May 06, 2013
Recently, on Beatles Code 2, T-ara shed tears and finally revealed their long-awaited side to the Hwayoung vs T-ara bullying incident, hoping for sympathy yet getting the completely opposite. Translated by and credit to netizenbuzz, their interview as well as the preview to the interview went on as so:
Preview:
"It wasn't bullying... We didn't know about the leave [until they read articles in the media]"
Full Interview:
Hyomin: "When I was in high school, there were rumors about me being an iljin. It was only because I was friends with those type of kids in my neighborhood, but I wasn't anything more than that. There were also rumors that I had assaulted my friends and forced them to transfer out of the school. I never once hit anybody. I'd rather someone came forward and claimed themselves as a victim if that were the case." When asked about her transfer, "I transferred schools because it was a decision made by my mom who wanted me to study at a higher level school because I had such an ardor for it. It wasn't at all because I bullied anyone. The reason I never said anything about it at the time was because I didn't want anyone to make fun of my friends because of me.
Eunjung: "I can see why people would think of it as bullying if they only saw what was revealed online. But I also had my own bullying rumors. Between the two days that the scandal occurred, we did get into a fight with Hwayoung. I admit that it was wrong of us to use Twitter to publicly express ourselves like that. The fact that we posted those things on Twitter was wrong in and of itself. The longer we stayed quiet, the bigger the misunderstandings and the rumors got. At one point, even we wondered of we were bullies because the internet made it seem that way. I was always proud of the fact that I had lived without anything to be embarrassed of, so it was miserable for me to feel like I had become a horrible person."
Eunjung: "Whenever an article about us is released, there are a lot of hateful comments on them. I read them at first because I was curious but I can no longer read them because they make me feel so down."
Hyomin: "The hateful comment that upset me the most was when Soyeon unni was in a car accident and someone wrote, 'Just die.' They even claimed the accident was manipulated. The actual accident was serious enough so that Soyeon unni was hurled out of the car."Hyomin: "After there was a fight in Japan, we had a 'Music Bank' schedule right after it. It was an awkward moment for us. We talked for about 40 minutes with Hwayoung in Korea. It was a stage that we had all dreamt of standing on and I didn't want to go on it with a fight."
Hyomin + Eunjung: "After the scandal, we had to make a public appearance. We couldn't say anything about it given the situation and it frustrated us to the point where it bothered us in our dreams. I just wanted to say two things: 'I'm sorry and I'll work harder.' If we had explained what had actually happened, the scandal would've gotten bigger. We wanted to tell the truth. We wanted to admit what was true and explain what was wrong and promise to reflect. But to the public, we became kids that did nothing."
Jiyeon: "Because we had already worked with each other for three years, I understand it might've been difficult for Hwayoung to fit in with the members. I bet it was hard for her to adjust to T-ara..."
Group: "If we had really hated Hwayoung, I don't think there would've even been a fight. But because of us, Hwayoung must've been really upset and lonely. Whatever the reason, we're just sorry that as public figures, we caused what we did."
And though their confession seems quite believable (excuse the 'Oh em gee! We never knew Hwayoung was gonna get kicked out till the articles were released!' spiel) Korean netizens think otherwise, immediately giving T-ara the bull shit they've been getting since the day the scandal happened.
Article: T-ara opens up for the first time on iljin-bullying rumorsSource: TV Report via Nate
2. [+868, -35] I don't even care about these explanations, just stop coming out on TV. It's obvious their tears are fake and a ploy for sympathy.
3. [+291, -11] Is she crazy? She just said she's sorry that Hwayoung couldn't adjust to T-ara... in less than a year ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Wow, they're worse than I thought
Article: T-ara N4 Hyomin tearfully explains iljin rumors "I never hit anyone"Source: TV Report via Nate
1. [+694, -24] They have such a strong determination to deny reality
3. [+497, -20] I'm going to be like T-ara and live shamelessly... It's really hard to make money and live these days, you know.
Article: T-ara Eunjung's honest confession "After the rice cake incident, I can't eat rice cakes in public"Source: Newsen via Nate
2. [+534, -18] You're the one that force fed Hwayoung rice cakes, why are you making yourself sound like the victim? And Newsen, stop writing positive articles about T-ara unless you want to drop to the same level as them
3. [+474, -11] Don't ever eat rice cakes again, forever
Article: T-ara 'bullying scandal' tearful confession "We wanted to talk about it"Source: Star News via Nate2. [+1,113, -55] It's suspicious how they answer as soon as they're asked a question, like it's all preplanned ㅋㅋ
3. [+987, -59] Your tears are fake...
4. [+815, -35] Doesn't matter, it's too late now. You guys can't turn back time.
5. [+772, -34] It's too late for you guys... Time didn't solve your problems, it became your poison.
Although the Korean netizen backlash was more than expected... and some of it, if not most of it was completely unnecessary, I can't help but to agree and ask some of the same questions some of the netizens are asking themselves.
Didn't T-ara already know Hwayoung was going to get the boot from before the media opened up about it? Why are they acting like their oblivious, innocent and like they were under a rock the whole time it happened? Are they lying about that one, small measly fact? If they're lying about that, what makes me want to believe the rest of what they said?
Did they just apologize for Hwayoung not bonding with them instead of them not bonding with Hwayoung?
Hyomin was accused of being an iljin in high school? Can I have more information on that? How can she not be an iljin but all the other people she hung out with be iljins?
Where the fuck is Dani?
With all these questions unanswered and my mind still indecisive and confused about the final confession from the members, I have to say, I really doubt T-ara even coming back and repairing the damage after this point... whether or not Hwayoung comes out, too and reveals a story that puts them in the clear.
Instead of spending a year hiding and avoiding it, I really think it would have been better to reveal this later, as one netizen saying, time didn't solve their problems but instead really became their poison.
What do you think of the first confession after their scandal? Do you think T-ara's innocent and doesn't deserve the hate or are guilty and do deserve it?
Also, thanks netizenbuzz for the translation of the preview, interview and comments!
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Though I somewhat agree with the matter that netizens took this situation a bit too far (especially the death threats... yikes!), I have to say that this confession from T-ara actually is something that's essential to many people who are up-to-date with K-Pop and are aware of the bullying scandal.
ReplyDeleteI'm not saying their confession changed how netizens see T-ara (because in fact, many Korean netizens still give a shitstorm to them) but on the contrary to what you're claiming, this confession was actually wanted.
I'm beyond giving a fuck, in fact I was beyond this months ago. How is this even news or even necessary for that matter - it's just mainly rehashing what Soyeon said over 6 months ago. It doesn't matter anyway, because everyone's already made their mind up, facts be damned. Nothing T-ara did, even if they really did everything they're accused of (and a large percentage of it we already know they didn't), is anywhere near as disgusting and shameful as the way netizens have behaved during this whole affair - cooking up obviously faked "evidence", death threats, constant cyberbullying, defamation... some netizens really need to be jailed over this (and I've heard some already have - yay, it's a start!). Korean netizens have made themselves look like utter shit in the eyes of rational k-pop fans worldwide thanks to their reaction to the T-ara scandal. And before anyone starts, the trendy hipster international netizens at Netizenbuzz and Allkpop are arguably even worse because they just re-parrot the Korean line without thought, often right down to using the exact same phrases in their futile attempts to be as Koreaboo as possible. In the meantime, T-ara is still selling quite nicely as the average man and woman on the street of Korea doesn't really give a damn about any of this. If there's a lesson here it's that the entertainment industry in Korea needs to stop caring about what netizens think, stop trying to get in their good books (which will never happen especially in this case) and just get on with the business of making entertainment.
ReplyDeleteGood bye t ara your career is over as much as there are still stupid fans supporting you the thing is is there are more people out there hates bullies like you
ReplyDelete