Omona They Didn't

The advertisement industry is starting to feel the effects of T-ara‘s controversy, as many of the brands the girls are endorsing have begun to strip the girls’ image from their stores.

Many of the brands have reported that they are currently receiving hundreds of calls and requests on their official homepages from fans claiming that they will be boycotting their products should they continue to use T-ara as their endorsement models.

‘Tony Moly‘, a cosmetics brand the girls are currently endorsing, has even gone as far as to publicly claim that they will not be signing the girls again. A representative stated, “T-ara’s contract ends at the end of August. We were in the midst of negotiating a new contract, but now that this controversy has happened, we will not be signing them on again.”

Other fans have actually visited the stores to express their boycott, causing stores to take down all of their T-ara posters from the walls.

Outdoor clothing brand ‘Wild Rose‘ still has eight months left with the girls. Representatives stated, “There is still time left with their contract, but because this is such a sensitive issue, we will be working with T-ara’s company to figure out what to do next.”

Other brands the girls are working with have been showing similar sentiments.
» allkpop » Sports Seoul via Naver



Core Contents Media’s CEO Kim Kwang Soo has demanded that the media cease reporting unconfirmed news regarding T-ara.

On July 31st, he was interviewed by Star News where he revealed that he met with the parents of Hwayoung and Hyoyoung and asked reporters to only report the facts for their sake.

He expressed, “After checking with T-ara’s backdancer team, I was able to confirm that the post claiming to be T-ara’s backdancer was indeed false, as with the content. The reason I terminated Hwayoung’s contract yesterday was because of her tendency to act out, such as refusing to perform on a live broadcast. The decision was made as a reflection of the opinions of T-ara’s staff. However, I believe that this decision will better aid Hwayoung in becoming a better artist.”

He continued, “Like I said yesterday, this decision has nothing to do with the bullying rumors going around. Because of the haters that are spreading rumors, the situation has taken a route of its own. These hateful lies are continuing to spread online, which is only making it harder for T-ara and Hwayoung.”

Kim Kwang Soo added, “I met with Hwayoung and Hyoyoung’s parents yesterday to explain to them my decision, and they were understanding of it. They wished for the best for both T-ara and Hwayoung, so it’s making it greatly difficult for both her parents and T-ara to see these unconfirmed stories coming up on the internet.”

Core Contents Media further emphasized, “We ask that all articles in relation to T-ara be confirmed through our company before they are released on the internet.”
» allkpop » Star News via Daum



With more and more individuals growing frustrated over the controversy that first surfaced with the controversial tweets of the T-ara members and the announcement of Hwayoung‘s contract termination with Core Contents Media, criticisms have been pouring in for the girl group.

A petition has even been created online asking for the disbanding of the group, with the title, “Petition for the Disbanding of T-ara“. The petition’s description states, “As a group who does not take the stage seriously, and as a group who is taking the lead in the spread of bullying, a big social problem, we ask for the disbanding of this group. It seems the time has come for T-ara, a group who doesn’t even greet their sunbaes if they don’t believe the other artist to be popular enough, to face the verdict of the public. Please dissolve this group.”

The petition has so far gained over 71,700 online signatures with numbers rising quickly.
» allkpop » daum



On the afternoon of July 30th, reporters visited the rehearsal studio of Core Contents Media to speak with 5dolls‘ Hyoyoung on the issue surrounding her twin sister Hwayoung.

Hyoyoung gave a short statement, expressing, “I’m upset that the issue had to spread this far.” Reporters claimed that she shed tears for a while after the comment.

Hyoyoung has been nothing but supportive of her twin sister through the ordeal, publicly displaying her support and concerns through Twitter.
» allkpop » Sports Chosun via Naver



After Core Contents Media CEO Kim Kwang Soo announced that T-ara member Hwayoung had acted in an ‘unacceptable’ manner on a number of occasions, an incident that took place between Hwayoung and Jiyeon has also been revealed.

According to an industry insider, there was an incident that took place back in 2010 where Hwayoung did not oblige with T-ara’s manager who asked the girls to prepare for their stage performance.

This brewed some quarrel amongst the girls, and Hyomin who grew tired of her attitude gave Hwayoung a piece of her mind, but Hwayoung reportedly refused to listen to Hyomin as well. Fellow member Jiyeon who was observing the situation also stepped up to say something to Hwayoung, causing the two to begin arguing. Following the fight with Hwayoung, Jiyeon was then unable to properly focus on stage, and the way the camera captured Jiyeon made it seem as though she had an attitude problem.

Meanwhile, CCM reported that Hwayoung suddenly refused to participate in T-ara’s July 27th ‘Music Bank‘ stage, with only two groups before them left to go. On the way home, Hwayoung, in front of fans and reporters, threw down her crutches and sat on the floor, threatening to yell at the managers in public.
» allkpop » Newsen via Nate



The number of members who have joined online café T-Jinyo (“We Demand the Truth from T-ara”) has now surpassed 160,000.

Fans created ‘T-Jinyo’ shortly after CCM‘s CEO Kim Kwang Soo announced that member Hwayoung will be leaving T-ara. While T-ara’s fan café has lost around 6,000 members, the members of the ‘T-Jinyo’ café has been steadily increasing. And now less than a day after the big announcement, the number of T-Jinyo members has quickly surpassed 160,000. Fans are using the café to argue that they have a right to know the truth, and that they deserve a clear explanation as to why Hwayoung is leaving the group. Incidents of where Hwayoung was supposedly being bullied by the other members have continuously been shared by fans, while other netizens are creating online bulletin boards to show their support and encouragement for Hwayoung.

It seems like the name for the café was modeled after ‘Tajinyo’, and some netizens are even petitioning for the T-ara members be expelled from variety shows and K-dramas, as well as the entire disbandment of T-ara.
» allkpop » Ilkan Sports via Nate » TVReport via Nate



Among the many that are stepping forward to offer some more insight on the T-ara controversy, is a netizen who claims to be a former T-ara back-up dancer.

The post is going viral online, and in it, the dancer describes in detail of a time Jiyeon had slapped Hwayoung across the face.

It reads:

“I am a member of Hot Chicks, an exclusive dance team for T-ara, and am also working with Davichi, KARA, Brown Eyed Girls, Rainbow Pixie, and more.

It was around the time the Japanese concert took place. We were getting big with our “Lovey Dovey” shuffle dance after Hwayoung was admitted, and getting ready to perform “Roly Poly” for our year-end performance.

During one of the rehearsals, it was a situation where Kwang Soo had jam-packed our schedules, so both the dancers and the members of T-ara who had just completed their day’s work were extremely sensitive and on edge.

Still, everyone was mustering up their last bit of strength and practicing, when Hwayoung messed up a little bit of the choreography.

Seeing this, Jiyeon and Soyeon then sarcastically scoffed at her, saying, ‘Since you already decided to join, you should maybe work a little harder.’

Hwayoung then became a little depressed, but the dance leader mediated the situation and the rehearsal resumed.

But Hwayoung maintained an uncomfortable expression on her face, and Jiyeon who saw this slapped Hwayoung across the cheek and told her that because she had come in late to the already-established group T-ara, she needed to act sensibly and to rehearse without that expression on her face.

The atmosphere became extremely tense, and Hyomin took Jiyeon outside, telling her that she should just be the bigger person.

Even after Hwayoung’s ‘exposure’ incident, everyone was indifferent towards her, rather than comforting.

After the incident, T-ara went on hiatus to prepare for “Day By Day” and because of events with Davichi and Brown Eyed Girls, I could only see T-ara on TV.

Seeing them on the small-screen, I thought that the girls’ relationship with Hwayoung had improved, but these girls who are all grown don’t want to sit by her in the car so they blatantly play rock paper scissors right in front of her face.”

Post like these attesting to the bullying attacks against Hwayoung continue to surface on portal site community boards, causing netizens to become all the more eager to uncover the truth.

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[Update: The leader of the dance team has come forward to deny these claims and Kim Kwang Soo himself has also stated that this story has been fabricated in the latest article here.]
» allkpop » citydaily » ggtimes



SBS PD Ryu Chul Min who tweeted earlier today stating that he will no longer cast the members of T-ara has since apologized for his previous tweet.

PD Ryu wrote his apology via Twitter on July 30th saying, “After reading the articles about T-ara today, I personally felt that it was an unfortunate situation for Hwayoung to be in. I failed to consider the fact that my opinion could have been interpreted as an official stance [on the situation]. I apologize.”

Earlier today, Ryu Chul Min PD caused quite a stir among netizens by making it seem as if he will no longer cast T-ara by tweeting, “Aigoo Hwayoung ㅠㅠ this oppa will no longer cast T-ara.”

Shortly after his initial tweet, he has been trending on various online portal sites along with various phrases like “A brave statement” and “Irresponsible“, causing him to take to Twitter to apologize for his actions.
» allkpop » Ryu Chul Min’s Twitter