Conflicts between T-ara and now former member Hwayoung have been all over the news lately concerning the said bullying Hwayoung received from the members, Hwayoungs terminated contract and departure, and now the poor publicity T-ara is receiving because of it.
The drama began to surface when T-ara had their special performances in Japan at the
Budokan Concert, performing in unit groups to famous Japanese Idols EXILE, AKB48 and Koda Kumi.
However as Hwayoungs leg injury had left her unable to perform,
they were unable to perform fully as a group, instead Hwayoung only performed her rap sequence in ‘Day By Day’ sitting on a chair on the stage.
Following the concert T-ara began to post tweets which left some fans angry as
it seemed they were singling out Hwayoung’s inability to perform alongside them:
Hyomin: ‘The differences in levels of determination ^^,
Let us all have more determination, Fighting!!’
Jiyeon followed: ‘The differences in levels of determination ^^, Always be humble^^,
And sensible ^^ I applaud you acting genius ^^’
Eunjung then tweeted: ‘A position can make or break a person, but determination can
make a person too. Sigh, it’s unfortunate. You have to know to take care of the people
around you.’
Hwayoung then spoke up and said: ‘Sometimes, even determination alone is not enough.
At times like these, I feel upset but I trust that its a blessing in disguise from the heavens.
God, you know everything right?’
What triggered the fans concern further is when Hyoyoung 5dolls member and sister of
Hwayoung tweeted: ‘My better half is suffering. My heart hurts. No matter what
anyone else says, you can get through this‘ to which Hwayoung responded:
‘You’re the best.’
Fans became angered over the tweets as they believe Hwayoung is being bullied by the members of T-ara. Some fans believe that member Hwayoung is being isolated and outcast by the members of T-ara.
Others say that its silly for an idol group to bash their members so publicly, in which people are believing the situation to be a publicity stunt.
Fans are also saying that Contents Core Media as a Company are using bullying techniques as an excuse to kick Hwayoung out of the group.
After these events Core Contents Media further sparked the controversy by revealing that they will be making a major announcement concerning T-ara, In which fans and the Media speculated that Hwayoung may be leaving T-ara.
Following that, Hwayoung made more tweets that made fans saddened and angry over
the drama:
‘The support of my family and my fans is worth so much to me. Please watch over me.’
Hyoyoung as Hwayoungs sister also tweeted a slightly controversial message which fans deemed to be aimed at T-ara: ‘What does it matter if your face is pretty. It’s your heart that has to be pretty. Is a person who is unwell not a person? I’m hurting too.
I want to seriously cry. I should just practice instead…’
More fuel to the fire was discovered by Netizens, who uncovered an interesting profile
picture Hyomin had on twitter which when was fully uncovered read ‘There’s a reason
for everything’.
Following these events Netizens began to post up moments of Hwayoungs being bullied,
one of which was on a Japanese broadcast where we can see Eunjung forcefully
shoving a rice cake into Hwayoungs mouth:
Other stories arose of Jiyeon picking on Hwayoung in the car during a schedule ‘She’s
only acting like that because she’s in front of the camera. As someone who’s in the
same team as her, this is my first time seeing her reading.’
Because of the Bullying stories fans demanded that Eunjung be kicked off
‘We Got Married‘ and latest drama ‘Five Fingers’, by leaving comments on the
bulletin boards such as ‘If she doesn’t leave, I will stop watching’ and ‘I can only see her as a complete fake now.’ Also because of the events,
Eujung lost her place as ambassador of the police and her picture displayed on the website was replaced with F(x)’s Krystal.
Finally on July 30th Core Contents Media CEO Kim Kwang Soo announced that
Hwayoung will be leaving T-ara in a press release that he wrote himself:
‘In deference to the complaints by T-ara’s staff of 19 people
(5 stylists, 7 hair & makeup,5 on-site managers, 2 team managers),
Hwayoung’s contract as an artist will be
voided effective immediately with no conditions.
We wish to impress upon the fact that this has nothing to do with the
‘bullying’ reports surrounding T-ara, Although the staff of
Core Contents Media stayed up into early morning discussing
with the T-ara members who all wanted to stay with Hwayoung,
we apologize in saying that we could not
forsake the arguments of the staff members.’
‘We deeply apologize for the many incidents which
made everyone who loved T-ara nervous and worried,
and we have nothing but sadness to convey such an unsettling
incident on their third anniversary.
We also apologize again to the T-ara members and
wish Hwayoung all the best as a powerful rapper, since Hwayoung
has great potential as a rapper we decided to end her contract without
conditions and we believe that she will grow into the future as a free artist.’
Following on from CEO of CCM Kim Kwang Soo’s press release about the termination of Hwayoung’s contract, the former T-ara members sister Hyoyoung, who has constantly been publicly supporting her sister left a silent tweet: ‘…………..’
Hwayoung also fought back against Kim Kwang Soo’s alleged reason for her contract being terminated with a statement on twitter simply reading: ‘Facts without truth’
Shortly after Kim Kwang Soo’s press release, he partook in an interview about the controversy still with both T-ara and Hwayoung.
There are many reports of bullying, are the fights between the members a big reason in the departure?
‘ No the relationship was not the problem. In fact once you take control of a team, small problems can erupt. Bigger problems are hardships faced by staff.
The CEO stayed extremely quiet and careful speaking about the situation but at the end told the reporter:
‘ There were so many issues, but i really do not want to shed light on any of them, so I am keeping quiet. There were many examples of yelling at the members and breaking down the teamwork. How would the T-ara members feel who had trained for over 3 years? In order not to inflate this issue any further, I hope (Hwayoung) stays quiet.’
Although Hwayoung has now left the group, the aftermath has left T-ara in a pitiful situation, with their biggest fan-cafe shutting down losing thousands of fans, there concert being postponed and there appearances being pulled on many occasions. Is this the end for T-ara? Tell us your opinions! Stay tuned for Part 2 of this article: The Aftermath!
