Former T-ara member Ryu Hwa-young (stage name Hwayoung during her time in T-ara) has revealed her feelings about the ‘T-ara bullying incident’ that rocked the world in 2012, 12 years after the incident.

On the 10th, Ryu Hwa-young posted on her Instagram account, “First of all, I apologize for worrying you with an uncomfortable story. Yesterday (the 9th), I saw my former agency CEO Kim Kwang-soo speak about the ‘T-ara bullying incident’ on a TV show and thought about it 100, 1000 times before deciding to write this post.” As a person involved in the so-called ‘T-ara bullying incident’ in 2012, I felt a lot of self-reproach regardless of right or wrong as I watched it cause various social controversies and lead to the disbandment of the group T-ara, which was the foundation of me. I always felt sorry towards all the fans who loved T-ara and the members who broke up with the words “bullying” and “discord.”

Ryu Hwa-young wrote, “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 rumors. Although it was a noisy breakup, because T-ara existed, the current Hwa-young exists, so I have remained silent even though I have many traumas and felt wronged.” “However, after hearing the statements made by CEO Kim Kwang-soo on a variety show, I do not understand why he would make biased and distorted statements about an incident from 12 years ago, so I am telling the truth with difficulty because I thought I should correct the wrong parts.”

Ryu Hwa-young wrote, “First, the fact that I was “bullied” is true. It is false that I “cosplayed as a victim” when I was in T-ara, even though I was not bullied. As a new member of T-ara, I tried to blend in with the members with the obsession of not harming the existing members. However, the existing members of T-ara assaulted me and verbally abused me. The reason I endured was because I thought I 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 had to suffer several times because of me, so I thought I had to sing at least one song.”


Ryu Hwa-young said, “Thirdly, it’s 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 promotions in Japan. The fact that I got my nails done was 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 getting my nails done for my own satisfaction,” she claimed.

She continued, “When my contract with T-ara was terminated, I had a lot of evidence to prove that I was bullied, so I tried to express my position through a press conference, but CEO Kim Kwang Soo suggested that if I kept quiet without 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 members of T-ara 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, cried because we couldn’t do anything.”

Ryu Hwa Young said, “I sincerely want to ask CEO Kim Kwang Soo something. What on earth is my intention in making such completely distorted statements, mentioning my real name on a broadcast about a story that happened 12 years ago?”I am currently alone without an agency. I also know that I cannot fight against a CEO who has been consistently influential 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.”

The reason Ryu Hwa-young brought up the past again like this is when Kim Kwang-soo, the CEO of Pocketdol Studio (GM Planning, Core Contents Media, and the successor to MBK Entertainment), appeared on MBN‘s ‘Let’s Go’ on the 9th and talked about the various rumors surrounding him. In particular, on that day‘s broadcast, CEO Kim Kwang Soo claimed that there was discord in T-ara due to Ryu Hwa Young’s injury, and that he unconditionally terminated the contracts of Ryu Hwa Young and Hyo Young (twin sisters, Ryu Hyo Young was from Co-ed School and Five Dolls), but that this led to bullying rumors.


CEO Kim Kwang Soo said, “The parents of T-ara came to me and said to reveal the truth through a press conference. I died because I wondered what would happen to those friends‘ (Ryu Hwa Young and Ryu Hyo Young) lives. I think the T-ara members did nothing wrong, so I pushed ahead with the broadcast. That was the hardest time in my 40 years in the entertainment industry. I still feel sorry for the members. It’s already been over 10 years, but I think it‘s still going on,” and shed tears.

Ryu Hwa Young is a member who joined T-ara in 2010. When Ryu Hwa-young joined, T-ara was already a girl group with many hit songs. After Ryu Hwa-young joined, the group went from strength to strength, but in 2012, due to the so-called ‘T-ara bullying incident’, Ryu Hwa-young left the group and pursued the path of an actress. As a result of the aftermath of the incident, T-ara also became shunned by the public, and the members eventually dispersed and are either pursuing individual activities or have stopped their activities.

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