TWICE Mina Makes a New Walk Trend
TWICE Mina is not just a pretty face and a good singer and dancer, she is also a trendsetter. The Korean girl band member recently grabbed the headlines on her own because of her walk. This is not the first time fans noticed her unusual walk, but this is the first time it becomes a craze. The trend is called "The Capitalism Walk."
TWICE Mina "The Capitalism Walk"
Mina has been nicknamed "penguin" because of the way she walks. It can be noticed that her toes are pointing outwards when she walks. Apparently, this is because of years practicing ballet in which toes are always seen pointed in different directions.
However, it looks like Mina can adapt and change the way she walks when needed. In several official events with her bandmates, she was seen walking as if she's on a runway. Fans tagged these perfectly executed steps as "The Capitalism Walk." For her fans, however, Mina is adorable in both her "penguin" and "The Capitalism Walk."
Knowing Mina of TWICE
She is the only Japanese/American member of TWICE. There are other Japanese members in the group - Momo and Sana. The two are living in Korea since 2012 while Mina transferred to the country in 2014. Like all members of the girl band, Mina was also a contestant on the South Korean reality show Sixteen.
Mina is actually born in San Antonio, Texas but her family moved to Japan when she was a toddler. She currently holds both US and Japanese passports but she must give one up before she turns 22. She is 20 years old now. Mina grew up as a young ballerina in Kobe, a city on Osaka Bay in central Japan. She studied ballet for 11 years.
TWICE Mina has been a fan of K-pop. In fact, she joined Urizip Dance School in Japan to learn K-pop dance moves and other modern dances. She began imitating K-pop choreography when she was in high school.
"One of my friends in middle school asked me to join her K-pop cover group. I remember that the first dance we did was Girls' Generation. Later I went to concerts of K-pop bands like Big Bang and CNBLUE. I was deeply impressed by their performances," Mina said in one interview.
In 2013, Mina was scouted by a JYP Entertainment staff while shopping with her mother in Japan. She was then invited to join JYP Entertainment Global. Mina auditioned for a JYP screening in Japan and in January 2014, she joined the trainee program in South Korea. During her first years in Korea, she appeared in the music videos of Got7's "Stop Stop It", Junho's "Feel", and Wooyoung's "R.O.S.E."
Although Korea has a strained relationship with Japan, Mina was able to make it to the new the group TWICE which was formed through Seventeen show in 2015. She was introduced as one of the members of TWICE later that year. Mina is not only known for her infamous "The Capitalism Walk" but also of having a good heart. By the end of 2017, Mina decided to be an organ donor in South Korea. She has been a registered organ donor in Japan since 2013.