The bullying controversy that mired the early days of girl group T-ara has once again resurfaced. A T-ara staff member revealed a conversation showing Hwayoung's twin sister Hyoyoung threatening then-T-ara member Areum, and added that the twins are just playing victim when they really started the fire. In response to this, Areum thanked the reporter and also shared her side of the story.
According to Soompi, the screenshot indicates that Hyoyoung sent threats to Areum via text message. It was revealed that the threats came after an incident in Japan where Hwayoung missed out on concert rehearsals, causing the production team and the T-ara to make the necessary adjustments to their performance. When the group returned to South Korea, there was already tension among the members. The messages showed that Hyoyoung threatened to beat up Areum and cut her face. The text messages were confirmed by a former T-ara manger. The manager added that employees who've handled T-ara have known about it since the beginning.
It was long believed that Hwayoung was the one who was heavily bullied by the members of T-ara, and was the main reason why she left the group. But the accounts that have surfaced recently seem to suggest that her attitude started the friction between her and the other members of T-ara.
On Instagram, Areum uploaded a photo thanking the staffer for releasing the screen shot. According to Koreaboo, she also said that she's doing better and that she's sorry for causing fans to worry.
"I have endured so much. Everything aside I want to thank the reporter who uploaded my past picture. I hope we do meet," Areum wrote on Instagram.
The issue of T-ara's bullying controversy was once again brought up after Hwayoung and Hyoyoung appeared on tvN's "Taxi." On the show, Hwayoung revealed that what happened to her could easily happen to other women.
