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Photos from the press conference: I think this tumblr post quote covers whats going on in my head pretty well: "ohmygod eunjung’s condition at the press conference today looks so much worse than hyomin. almost all the time she seems like she’s physically there but her mind is floating around somewhere in depressland. and her physical state is in wrecks D; " - source

Hwayoung used her ambiguous tweets to gain public sympathy but now I wonder if she hasn't dug a hole for herself - she's lost her contract which she seems to have wanted, her former group is under fire and the only way to get back into the group would be to admit to acts that she probably hasn't done. The whole twitter thing seems extremely passive aggressive - much of the scandal was due to her convos with her sister and the coach's tweets where they console her but she never says anything herself, allowing netizens to come up with more stuff and now thanks to KKS, even if she were to admit to a possible lack of bullying in the group, people might dismiss it as trying to kowtow the line for KKS. Hell.

Until Hwayoung clears up the issue, I think T-ARA is doomed by the actions of KKS and CCM. She's the only one who people are likely to believe so we need to wait. Personally, I find her lack of clarification on way or another very disappointing. She's using the public to fight for her rather than standing up and actually stating what happened. And with more people coming out of the wood work to cash in on the scandal (tweets from PDs, antis who've always hated the group etc.) this just makes it worse. I've never trusted KKM and CCM is a terrible management company so I need to members to say something concrete. Until then, I'm not casting stones. Because ultimately, there is this deep seated fear of the what if. What if the rumors and scandal are false? What if the members have problems (they might not be close to Hwayoung but Hwayoung being so shy, had difficulty getting close to anyone other than her sister for instance) but not to the extreme of bullying? What if this is a misunderstanding of epic proportions? I'm worried that Hwayoung is not going to speak out one way or another. I'm worried she'll let this fester like a wound and the rumors will destroy the futures of T-ARA's members. In a PR nightmare like this, she's the only one with a credible enough voice to settle the issue. I wish she'd get onto a show with the other members and hash it out because its just getting worse. I have no faith in management resolving the issue. But Hwayoung isn't the type to take action beyond ambiguous tweets. So I fear there might not be light at the end of this tunnel. And this leaves me extremely scared for T-ARA - not the group so much as the individual people in it who have been silenced by management and public censure. I'm worried about the pressure they feel, the nightmare scenario that might just push them over the edge.

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Does it seem like everyone's jumping on the bandwagon to boycott T-ARA without actually knowing what's going on, besides CCM and KKS being awful?

If no bullying actually occurred, God, I have to admit that I won't be able to condone Hwayoung's actions for jeopardizing the others.

I do agree that Hwayoung pulling out at the very last minute would explain the issues with that performance - both Eunjung and Hyomin are great at rapping (pull up TTL at the Japanese concert on youtube for instance), so its unlikely they'd need to have copies of lyrics if they had advance notice. However, I do believe the negative publicity by KKS are smear tactics - I just keep thinking "PHOTO/VIDEO or it didn't happen!" One thing to note though, Hwayoung pulling out of the performance at the last moment would explain why she posted that defensive reply to the others tweets (the guilt would make her feel like they were talking about her rather than the concert). She's probably been consoled by her sister in the past and this resulted in the tweets from sis and coach that focus so negatively on the other members (they felt anger for her sake, even if they may not have seen the full picture)

The public is unlikely to believe this unless there's third party witness accounts or footage from reporters of said incident.

I think Eunjung might be crying...again (the stress on the members over these past few days must be enormous)

As much as I like the fact that Hwayoung is using twitter as a voice to the public and the fans, I don't see this ending well for two reasons: - unless she plans on taking this to court or unless another management company decides to cash in on the public favor and fanbase and recruit her, a war on twitter might be a detriment to her chances in the industry. Hwayoung is a rapper, and unless she plans to enter hip-hop, her kpop!future require her to be in a group or at least a duo. Management companies in South Korea suck. They want power and control and if they feel that recruiting Hwayoung might lead to a bigger scandal in future then...Hwayoung's not going to get a second big break. - she hasn't really cleared up the bullying issue. T-ARA at this point can only show support of Hwayoung - any defence they might claim will be automatically dismissed. They can't call the CEO on possible BS, since that would mean them falling under the bus too. If Hwayoung were to denounce the bullying allegations (as long as they were untrue) and the members could express positive sentiments towards Hwayoung then it might go a long way towards neutralising the scandal. However, this is not the case yet. By failing to clarify the bullying rumors (anything CCM, KKS, and T-ARA members say will be dismissed as excuses or lies) Hwayoung is using the public to further her own needs. This can easily lead to a public backlash against T-ARA and put the team member's futures also in jeapardy. By not going through management and not communication with the group about problems, this could possibly doom T-ARA unless something is done. My biggest question is why Hwayoung has not said whether she's been bullied or not. Is she trying to avoid a possible libel suit or legal action? Or is the situation more ambiguous where there might not have been bullying involved but Hwayoung didn't have anyone she was close to (like her sister) in the group - Qri and Boram are sort of BFFs, Soyeon kinda flies solo and Eunjung, Jiyeon and Hyomin are a bit of a trio. The feeling of isolation and pressure might have instigated this, so she might feel wronged but to the others, they might not feel like they've done anything wrong. We are our own worst critics and she might have taken those tweets personally beyond the intent. Personally, I believe those initial tweets were either about the concert and motivating the group, or a forewarning to fans about something coming up (maybe management doing something negative because the Japan!concert was such a big deal). Hwayoung used twitter to respond and her sisters' tweets (and coach's) turned it around to bullying. The weirdest thing is Hwayoung's initial tweet before it all blew up included a happy photo which makes everything even more ambiguous. I also don't believe the so called videos of bullying proof - if you go through other groups' variety show appearances, I bet you'll find similar footage, esp in regards to the maknaes. There's an awesome post on twitter with photos of the Hwayoung with other T-ARA members having fun and showing some love and it just reminded me that we aren't getting any clarification on the major issue (bullying) and unless the public gets something solid from Hwayoung and T-ARA, the group's future is bleak.

Ok, links to the songs off of youtube: Goodbye, OK - my favorite I'm So Bad - also loving this one Cry Cry Cry Cry (Ballad) O my God - is it my imagination or does this song have a strong christmas!carol vibe? I adore this album like mad - the instruments, the arrangements, its all just... *bliss* I'm not that crazy about the electronic sounds of Lovey Dovey so this mini album is just wonderful.