When K-pop girl group After School reunited in 2021, it was for the first time in more than five years and for what Kahi thought would be the last performance of her life. Reality show Mama the Idol, which focused on six women who left K-pop to start families and their quest to return to the stage, proved her wrong. Kahi, of After School, was joined on the show by Wonder Girls’ Sunye, Park Jung-ah of Jewelry, Baby V. O. X Re. V’s Yang Eun-ji, and soloists Byul and Hyun Jyu-ni. Several of the women hadn’t performed on stage in years, some for more than a decade, and two – Kahi and Sunye – had flown in from overseas to participate in the show. Some of the participants had faced a backlash for putting their family first, like Sunye, who announced in 2012 she was getting married . Fans of the group accused her of being why Wonder Girls suffered a dip in popularity during their peak. The show, which emphasised the women’s struggles, began airing in December. Its finale on February 4 culminated in the debut of M. M. D, or Mamadol – a hybrid of “Mama” and “idol” – and the release of WooAh Hip . K-pop girl supergroup to feature stars from Aespa members to BoA “Female idols should NOT stop working when they turn 30, get married, or have kids (unless they chose to) because these women + their experience and talent makes them some of the best female kpop (sic) idols right now,” reads the top voted comment on the song’s YouTube video. “This will be the best girl group this year and I am so excited to see them continue their journey as working idol moms!!!!” The show’s producer Min Chul-gi tells the Post that Mama the Idol, born out of a nostalgia for K-pop artists from the late aughts and early 2010s, was also created to highlight the intense burden that mothers feel – especially recently. “Everyone’s going through a tough time during the Covid-19 pandemic , but don’t we all agree that mothers have it much harder?” says Min. “They have to dedicate more time in caring for their children at home. “I was already thinking that mothers have it tough these days and when the word ‘mother’ was mentioned during [a production] meeting, I definitely thought this would be worth doing. I had this hope that maybe this programme could bring energy and encouragement to all the mothers.” For the contestants, returning to the stage wasn’t an easy decision. The first episode of Mama the Idol featured the staff trying to contact women they thought would want to take part, only to be told they weren’t able to or simply couldn’t. “They stopped performing for five or 10 years to focus on taking care of their children and their bodies changed because of pregnancy, so there was this lack of confidence … they asked themselves ‘Will I be able to do a good job?’” says Min. “There was also a risk of doing them more harm than good, harming their past career.” 2021 was K-pop nostalgia year, as second generation groups found new fans Despite the intense taboo around K-pop idols dating, the careers of male K-pop stars can continue beyond marriage and fatherhood, with popular boy bands remaining active for a decade or two. This is not without controversy – there is some resistance to Chen of EXO becoming a father and remaining in the band, for example. Female stars and groups, however, aren’t typically able to maintain the same career longevity, and marriage is often, if not always, the end of a career. Mama the Idol reflects the reality not just of women in South Korea’s entertainment industry, but of Korean women in general. The country is well known for its lack of gender equality , particularly in workplaces , with women often leaving the workforce to focus on child-rearing. The stars of Mama the Idol are not atypical in having to forgo careers to become mothers. While the official video for WooAh Hip, uploaded to YouTube on January 28, has over 2 million views to date, Mama the Idol was not a runaway hit show. However, it is drawing attention for the way it refocuses K-pop’s story on longevity and age-based sexism. “This is the most relatable K-pop show I have ever watched,” tweeted Rebecca Sun, a senior editor at US entertainment trade magazine The Hollywood Reporter , on January 24. “If you get invested in teenage trainees trying to make their dreams come true, just wait until you meet these women in their 30s/40s who’ve been out of the game for about a decade.” just wait until you meet these women in their 30s/40s who've been out of the game for about a decade. They gave up their past lives to raise their kids, and this show makes you cry 2-4x an episode as that dying pilot light inside them reignites. — Rebecca Sun 孫洪美 (@therebeccasun) January 24, 2022 Rolling Stone India published an article on February 14 titled “Why Mamadol is Integral to the K-pop Industry”, with a subheading that read: “This six-member supergroup proved that idols don’t have to choose between starting a family or having a successful career.” “The relatability and desirability might dip for a fan, but that doesn’t mean the idol has stopped being the artist they always were: a musician capable of outstanding stage, choreography and vocal performances,” wrote Rolling Stone India editor Riddhi Chakraborty. “Marriage and kids are a part of an artist’s life – like most human beings – and not their entire identity. The chance to keep performing shouldn’t be lost if they have a family. Why must they choose between the two?” Min says he was surprised by the response from singers when he reached out to them to see if they wanted a chance to not have to make that choice. Old K-pop music videos remastered in YouTube collaboration “When I called Kahi to tell her about the show, I could hear over the phone she was tearing up saying she missed the stage. When I told her that the programme might not do well, she said she didn’t mind and that being on stage is more than enough.” Will Mama the Idol c hange things for the current or the next generation of K-pop stars? “I think it’s hard to say, because this is something closely related to social problems,” admits Min. “I think it might be difficult without a societal system that supports women to have a career. I’ve seen celebrity mothers and it looked really difficult to do both. And this applies to mothers in all fields.”