For the past weeks, the Korean entertainment industry has been hit by bullying accusations, specifically school violence allegedly committed by celebs during their school days.
K-pop artistes like Stray Kids’ Hyunjin, The Boyz’s Sunwoo, Ikon’s Yunhyeong and Loona’s Chuu were all accused of it. Others in the list include Kim Sohye (former member of I.O.I), Mingyu (Seventeen), Kihyun (Monsta X) and HyunA.
Likewise, Extracurricular star Kim Dong-hee was also alleged to have been a bully at his school. The latest to join the list is actor Ji Soo, most recently seen in the drama River Where The Moon Rises.
One person on Reddit K-pop describe bullying in Korean schools as more than “calling someone names, or taking their lunch money.”
The person went on to write: “There is a deeper layer of wanting to prove (one’s) superiority through the complete degradation of someone else’s dignity. (Worse) no one is there to help you as teachers have been made powerless... Therefore, school bullying just keeps getting worse.”
An article concurred that school violence in Korea entails more than just the physical aspect.
The “mental violence” by insulting and shaming a person is happening more and more in Korean schools, it reports. Throw in the usage of smartphones in the digital age, now you have cyber school violence that kids have to endure.
Many of the victims, the report added, have chosen to be silent about this crime due to fear of retaliation from the abuser, and not wanting to worry their parents.
However in the last month, some of the victims have opened up to talk about their wounds... in this scenario, pointing their finger at famous folks.
As to why so many of these accusers are coming forth now could be due to the fact, a pair of Korean volleyball superstars and twin sisters were removed from the national team following similar allegations.
Many of the artistes accused of this abhorrent act have come out to deny the allegations and have said they will take legal actions. In some cases, the accusers have retracted their statements by deleting the said posts.
And in one case an alleged victim who accused actress Park Hye-soo (My Shy Boss) of being a bully later turned around to say that it was not the actress after all.
In a dramatic twist, the actress then wrote on her Instagram that she was the victim of bullying, which began after a false rumour about her was spread at her school.
Park also wrote this: “The person who is calling themselves a victim now is the same person who flipped over my lunch tray and cursed at me when I first transferred schools.”
With truth being subjective here, online commentators are also divided on this matter.
One person who chose to believe the artistes wrote: “Is it really easy to ruin someone’s life? Think of the consequences of posting false accusations to these people. OMG, this is insane!!!”
Another, who decided to take a more neutral stance, wrote: “We as fans have no right to dismiss the pain of these victims who have come forward.... I don’t believe that we should cancel these celebrities, yet at the same time, it does not mean that they should not be called out for their past behaviour.
“It’s about time South Korea does something about this culture that enable bullies... These allegations prove that this issue has been festering for far too long.”
Bottom line is, while it’s hard to prove whether any of the allegations are true or false without solid proof, to reiterate, there’s no denying there is a problem. And it’s a huge one.
Here are some of the artistes caught up in this drama.
Case: Trouble started for the actor when a post was uploaded on an online forum on March 2, stating that actor Ji Soo was a perpetrator of school violence.
The alleged schoolmate wrote: “Kim Ji-soo had a bigger build than the other kids his age at the time. Starting in his second year of middle school in 2007, he roamed the school as a delinquent and performed all sorts of bad deeds.”
This included forcing them to buy cigarettes and throwing food at students during lunch.
The person added that Ji Soo carried around a BB gun and fired at students for fun. After the first claim was uploaded, two more people came forward alleging that Ji Soo committed both physical and mental violence.
On March 4, the 27-year-old celeb shared a handwritten apology letter on his Instagram. The translated apology, up on soompi.com, stated: “I sincerely apologise to the people who suffered because of me. There is no excuse for my past misconduct. They were things that cannot be forgiven.
"As I began my acting career, I received an undeserved amount of interest from the public with my past shrouded, and I think that’s how I ended up here today.
"However, there was always a part of me inside that felt guilty about the past, and my regret, which came too late for me to turn things back, always brought me a great deal of anxiety. I always felt crushed by my dark past.
"I want to express my deep atonement to the people who must have suffered for a long time while watching me go about my work as an actor, and I will reflect on and repent my past, which can never be washed away, for the rest of my life.”
Aftermath: It was officially announced on March 5 that Ji Soo is leaving his current drama, River Where The Moon Rises. At that time, the producers were still undecided on how to proceed as 95% of the drama has been filmed already. It had aired six episodes out of 20.
Later, it was confirmed that actor Na In-woo would take over Ji Soo’s role starting from episode seven, with all the scenes involving the character reshot.
Meanwhile, Ji Soo will be enlisting in the military come October, as a public service worker, though his agency insists this decision is unrelated to the recent controversy.
Case: Members of this popular group were already embroiled in an allegation of having bullied former member Hyunjoo until she quit the group, when another accusation popped up.
In an online forum, a person claimed that Naeun was a bully at their primary school.
Korean media reported the claim: “In my sixth year of elementary school, Naeun cursed at me for no reason, and the so-called ‘group of delinquents’ that included Naeun always ostracised me.”
After the school violence report, according to allkpop.com, more and more netizens have taken to online communities to expose more of the rude actions that April group members supposedly committed.
Aftermath: While the group’s agency came out with a statement to say the claims against the 21-year-old are false, a food company had stopped airing TV commercials and YouTube advertisements featuring the idol as of March 3.
The Korea Herald reported that “a cosmetics company deleted all pictures with Naeun; a food variety show confirmed that her scenes would be cut to a minimum in an episode she appears in.”
Naeun has also been dropped from the upcoming K-drama Taxi Driver, in which she had a supporting role.
Case: On Feb 22, a person alleged on an online post that Hyunjin committed school violence. The person wrote that the 20-year-old singer made “sexually harassing comments and insulted (the victim’s) family”.
The agency looked into the matter by talking to Hyunjin’s former students and teachers. It’s said the company even met with the accuser.
Although the agency admitted there are discrepancies, it apologised on its artiste’s behalf.
Hyunjin also shared a handwritten letter on Instagram, stating: “First of all, I sincerely apologise to those who were hurt by my improper actions during my school years.
"Looking back on times when I was more than lacking, I am embarrassed and have no excuse. I have realised that my actions and inconsiderate words have hurt others. I
"t is too late, but I will deeply reflect on myself.”
Aftermath: On Feb 27, JYP Entertainment announced that Hyunjin would stop all his entertainment activities. One report wrote the singer will “take the time to self-reflect after halting all of his activities as a celebrity”.
Case: The 22-year-old Soojin was rumoured to have bullied her schoolmates whereby in one instance she would make girls slap each other in the bathroom. The day after the accusations came out, Soojin took to a fansite to explain that she did “stray” during her younger days, trying out cigarettes and dressing inappropriately at school.
However, she denied that she caused someone harm or made someone an outcast.
She ended it with: “I apologise for causing an uproar with my personal life. I apologise to everyone that was hurt by my embarrassing actions.”
On March 17, new allegations were made against Soojin by another accuser who wrote: “Soojin would curse at and disrespect someone for giving her a school meal one minute late. I didn’t even know her well, but she sprayed me with a water gun, and I had to go to class with my clothes wet.”
This person is also encouraging anyone who witness the artiste committing the violence to come forward.
Meanwhile, the artiste and her agency are standing firm denying the allegations.
Aftermath: A cosmetics company has dropped Soojin as its endorser.
The rumours have also affected the group, which released a new album in January. Its first single Hwaa started to drop at a music chart when just a month ago it sat at the top of the chart.
Soojin is currently on temporary hiatus as a member of (G)i-dle.
Case: An online user claimed on Feb 16, to have been bullied by the actor while they were at school in New Zealand. Later, another accused Jo of being “a delinquent and a bully” during their school years.
This isn’t the first time such accusations have surfaced against the rising star, who was recently seen in the hit drama The Uncanny Counter. Back in 2018, someone claiming to be a classmate of Jo alleged that the actor “had shown instances of rude and insulting behaviour toward his classmates”.
Throughout this, the actor has denied allegations. One of the claimants has deleted the post since. Another online user who went to the same school defended Jo saying “he was never the type to do any misdeeds”.
The 24-year-old actor wrote a statement on Instagram that started with: “When the first false post came up about me, I was so shocked that I froze with a sense of injustice... It’s hard for me to endure this situation in which I am being misunderstood for things I didn’t do just because of a photograph and a couple of paragraphs.”
On March 10 he took to Instagram again to write: “My 10-year career has already collapsed and all of the projects I was scheduled to participate in have been put on hold. The damage amounts to a number I can’t quantify.”
He revealed this has also taken a toll on his health: “The mental damage? Ever since the accusations, I keep my eyes glued to the ground when I go out and I haven’t slept for weeks.”
Aftermath: Jo’s appearance in a new variety show has been put on hold. However, the station released a press statement to say that the delay in Jo’s appearance is because the station wanted to give the actor time to clear up the legal matter rather than because of the claims.
It read: “Jo Byeong-gyu is currently in the midst of taking legal action against these controversies.
"However, as the legal results are taking longer than expected, and our broadcast plans need to be finalised, we have judged that it would not be appropriate to rush forward with his appearance on the show at this time. As a result, we have decided to postpone his appearance.”
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