This page lists “TMI” of Haerin from NewJeans, a 5-member girl group. TMI originally stands for “Too Much Information.” However, in Korean popular culture, the term has evolved to mean “interesting personal details/trivia.”

Not sure what “TMI” means in K-Pop? Click here.
Read more about Haerin’s official stats and positions within the team here.

PREFERENCES & TASTES

Food

  • Haerin’s favorite food is inari sushi (or ”yubu chobab” in Korean**)**; she said she has loved it since she was young.
  • Haerin dislikes pickles.
  • Haerin is a fan of the Hawaiian pizza.
  • Haerin prefers hard/crunchy peaches to soft peaches.
  • Haerin prefers carp bread filled with red bean filling to carp bread filled with shu cream, and she prefers to eat cap bread from the head.
  • Haerin is a huge fan of fish and also loves sashimi/hoe. Haerin also likes Unagi Don.
  • Haerin’s favorite fruits are peaches and avocado.
  • Haerin is also a huge fan of various kinds of nuts.

Hobbies

  • Haerin loves listening to music.
  • Haerin likes to take walks; she said she often zones out while walking or jogging, listening to music.
  • Haerin enjoys learn new knowledge/trivia.
    • She said she enjoyed watching the “Let’s learn about mushrooms” video by CalmDownMan when she was on his livestream.
  • According to the NewJeans members, Haerin’s hobbies are watching YouTube videos and makeup; she often falls asleep while watching YouTube videos on her phone and stays in that position until morning.
  • Haerin is known as the member of NewJeans who takes the best selfies. She said she tries out a lot of different poses to find the best angle, and that her excellent selfies are a result of such efforts.

Likes and Dislikes

  • Haerin loves frogs; one of her nicknames is “frog” because she often wears green clothes and has a frog plushie, key ring, and pouch that she is attached to.
    • Although she is generally known for having a cat-type face, she often uses a frog as her signature emoji.
    • However, Haerin has said that she prefers to be called a “cat” rather than a “frog.”
  • Haerin has said she likes colors in the blue family.
  • Haerin’s favorite Harry Potter house is Ravenclaw.
  • Haerin likes putting on aromatic perfume before going to bed.
  • In 2022, Haerin has said that she is listening to a lot of FKA Twigs.

OTHER TRIVIA

  • Haerin said that if she hadn’t debuted as an idol, she would have wanted to become a barista.
  • Haerin has a Pomeranian named Bangkeul (방글) at her family’s house.
    • Bangkeul’s birthday is April 11th, the same day as Danielle’s birthday.
  • In 2022, the “Kang Haerin is Weird” meme went viral in Korea.
    • The meme originated from Minji responding, “Kang-Haerin is (being) weird,” to Haerin trying to win a secret mission challenge from an episode of NewJeans Code in Busan.
    • The meme expanded to include random adjectives after “Kang-Haerin is ~”
  • Haerin was born on the Teachers’ Day in Korea

HAERIN’S NICKNAMES

Most of the nicknames on this page have originated from Korean media or conversations held in Korean among members.

ENG
(translated)		 KOR
(original)		 MEANING
Baby Kitten 아기고양이 Haerin’s official representative animal/emoji is a cat, and she is known to have a cat-type face.
Kang Kitty 강고양이 A variation of the nickname above, “Baby Kitten,” Haerin got the nickname “Kang Kitty,” which is a combination of Haerin’s last name (Kang) and “Kitty.”
Kang Haerin is Weird 강해린 이상하다 In NewJeans Code in Busan, when Haerin dryly said “I was a bit funny today, wasn’t it?” Minji responded with “Karng Haerin is (being) weird.” This became a viral meme and became one of her most recognized nicknames.
Gatomon 가트몬 Haerin is said to resemble a famous character called Gatomon or Tailmon (a “cat-like” Digimon) from the Japanese anime, Digimon Adventure.
Vanessa Kang 바네사 강 Venessa is Haerin’s English name.
Copycat 카피캣 Haerin has a habit of mimicking other members; the nickname is a play on her behavior and the pre-existing English word “copycat.”
CalmDownGirl 침착걸 During the comeback livestream on CalmDownmMan’s YouTube channel, there were many moments where Haerin had a similar personality to CalmDownMan.
Kang Yoonsook 강윤숙 Park Myung-soo, a famous Korean comedian, has a segment on Halmyungsoo where he tries to guess the names of newly debuted idols that he doesn’t know the names of. His wrong guesses often go viral in Korea; his guess for Haerin’s name was “Yoonsook.” Later, when NewJeans was on the Halmyungsoo channel, Haerin introduced herself as “Yoonsook” and said she liked the nickname.