Former T-ara Hwayoung has opened up about the so-called ‘T-ara bullying incident’.

On the 10th, Hwayoung posted on her Instagram account, “First of all, I apologize for worrying you with an uncomfortable story. Yesterday (9th), I saw my former agency CEO Kim Kwang Soo speak about the ‘T-ara bullying incident’ on a TV show, and after thinking about it 100, 1000 times, I have decided to write this with difficulty.” She continued, “As a person involved in the so-called ‘T-ara bullying incident’ in 2012, I have felt a lot of self-reproach, regardless of right or wrong, as it caused a lot of social controversy and led to the disbandment of the group T-ara, which was the foundation of my foundation. I always felt sorry towards all the fans who loved T-ara and the members who broke up with the words ‘bullying’ and ‘discord’,” she wrote.

Hwayoung said, “It is true that for 12 years, I lived with the stigma of being a party to the ‘T-ara bullying’ incident and did not respond to the various false rumors. Although it was a noisy breakup, because T-ara existed, the current Hwayoung exists, so I have remained silent even though I have many traumas and felt wronged,” and added, “However, after hearing the comments made by CEO Kim Kwang Soo on a variety show, I do not understand why he would make biased and distorted comments about an incident from 12 years ago, so I am telling the truth with difficulty because I thought I should correct the wrong parts.”


Hwayoung said, “First of all, it is true that I was ‘bullied’. It is false that I was bullied during my time in T-ara, but I did the so-called ’victim cosplay‘. As a new member of T-ara, I tried to blend in with the members with the obsession of not causing any harm to the existing members. However, the existing members of T-ara assaulted me and verbally abused me. The reason I endured was because I thought things would get better if I worked harder. Second, I apologized to the members several times after I injured my ankle. Even when I couldn’t perform on stage in Japan because of my sprained ankle, I asked the director to let me sing at least one song. I felt sorry for the members who must have suffered several times because of me, so I thought I had to sing at least one song.”

Hwayoung explained, “Thirdly, it is true that I got my nails done at a hotel. However, T-ara usually had a nail salon come to the hotel whenever they had activities in Japan. The fact that I got my nails done is in the same context. “I feel like it’s an unfounded insult to me that they talked about my broken fingernails and getting them fixed before the stage as if I was the only one who got my nails done for my own satisfaction,” she claimed. “At the time my contract with T-ara was terminated, I had a lot of evidence that could prove the bullying, so I tried to express my position through a press conference, but CEO Kim Kwang Soo suggested that if I kept quiet without holding a press conference, he would also terminate the contract of my older sister, who was with the same agency at the time. I was only 20 years old, so I thought that was the best option. In the end, I left the group without even receiving an apology, and I’ve kept quiet for 12 years. After that, the T-ara members appeared on various entertainment shows and made statements that were different from the truth, saying that they had never bullied anyone, and they put an end to the bullying incident among themselves. My parents and I, who were watching that broadcast, shed tears because we were powerless to do anything.”


Hwayoung wrote, “I would like to sincerely ask CEO Kim Kwang Soo. What on earth is my reason for appearing on a broadcast and mentioning real names and making such completely distorted statements about a story that happened 12 years ago?” and “I am currently alone without an agency. I also know that I cannot fight against the CEO who has had constant influence in the entertainment industry for over 40 years. However, the reason I can say this is because I am confident that I can reveal the truth about that time.”


● Below is Hwayoung’s full SNS post

Hello

I am former T-ara member Hwayoung.

First, I would like to apologize for causing concern with an uncomfortable story. Yesterday, I watched a TV show where my former agency CEO Kim Kwang Soo spoke about the T-ara bullying incident, and after thinking it over a hundred, a thousand times, I finally decided to write this post.

As a person involved in the so-called ‘Tiara bullying’ incident in 2012, I felt a lot of self-reproach, regardless of right or wrong, as I watched the various social controversies and the disbandment of the group ‘Tiara’, which was the foundation of me. I have always felt sorry towards all the fans who loved T-ara and towards the members who parted ways due to the words ‘bullying’ and ‘discord’.

It is also true that for 12 years, I lived with a scarlet letter as a person involved in the ‘Tiara bullying’ incident, without responding to various false rumors. Even though it was a noisy breakup, because of T-ara, the current Hwayoung exists, so I have kept silent even though I have many traumas and grievances.

However, after hearing the comments made by CEO Kim Kwang Soo on a variety show, I do not understand why he would make biased and distorted comments about an incident from 12 years ago, so I will tell you the truth with difficulty because I think I have to correct the wrong parts.

First. The fact that I was bullied is true. It is false that I did the so-called ’victim cosplay‘ claiming to have been bullied when I was in T-ara. As a new member of T-ara, I tried hard to integrate with the members with the compulsion not to harm the existing members. However, the existing members of T-ara assaulted me and verbally abused me. The reason I held on was because I thought things would get better if I worked harder.

Second. I apologized to the members several times after my ankle injury.

Even when I couldn‘t perform on stage in Japan because my ankle was sprained, I asked the CEO to let me perform at least one song. I felt sorry for the members who suffered several times because of me, so I thought I had to sing at least one song.

Third. It’s true that I got my nails done at a hotel. However, T-ara usually invited a nail technician to the hotel whenever they had activities in Japan. My nail technician was in the same context. I feel like it was an unfounded insult to me that they talked about my broken fingernails being fixed before the stage as if I had gotten my nails done for my own satisfaction.

When my contract with T-ara was terminated, I had a lot of evidence to prove that I had been bullied, so I tried to express my position through a press conference,

but CEO Kim Kwang Soo suggested that if I kept quiet without holding a press conference, he would also terminate the contract of my older sister, who was with the same agency at the time. I was only 20 years old, so I thought it was the best. In the end, I left the group without even receiving an apology, and I‘ve kept quiet for 12 years.

After that, the T-ara members appeared on various entertainment shows and stated different statements from the truth, saying that they had never bullied anyone, and put an end to the bullying incident among themselves. My parents and I, who were watching the show, shed tears because we couldn’t do anything.

I want to ask CEO Kim Kwang Soo a sincere question. What on earth was my intention in appearing on air and mentioning real names to make such completely distorted statements about a story that happened 12 years ago?

I‘m currently alone, without an agency. I also know that I can’t fight against the CEO, who has been influential in the entertainment industry for over 40 years. Nevertheless, I can say this because I am confident that I can reveal the truth of that time.

Hong Se-young, Donga.com reporter, projecthong@donga.com