Scatter_88mil

Yea, I'd have to agree with you on this one. I personally find Jiyeon, Hyomin and Eunjung to be the most guilty of this bullying case but in the long shot and in the wide picture, KKS is to blame for along with whatever cootheads in management supported him. If more popular groups like SNSD or 2NE1 were in a situation like this, I can't even begin to imagine how much worse the chaos would be. It would be unthinkable - hell, Kpop as a whole would take what can be seen as an almost unrecoverable damage. Honestly, the more I think about it, T-ara seems much better off in its 6-ara days.

Call me crazy or being a defensive and delusional fanboy of Soyeon and Boram (yes, these two are my most favored members), but I think I can understand Soyeon's position along with Boram's. She's obviously not as popular as the Big 3 (you may know who I'm referring to) and definitely doesn't have a comparable income to either of them - hence her position as leader is likely to be undermined at times, regardless of her age and personality. I won't even bother explaining about Boram - she doesn't even give away an intimidating or decisive aura. Qri seems to be the only one who's safe - or simply just doesn't give a damn about what's going on. Such hierarchy based heavily on personal income and popularity is hinted to exist within Kpop groups and SuJu and SNSD can testify to that just fine. Assuming this case heavily applies to T-ara (CCM's profit distribution system is very similar to SM's), then I think we can say that Boram and Soyeon were more likely to be pressured rather than be active participants on their own will. Hyomin, Jiyeon and Eunjung aren't getting the most negative flame from both I-fans and K-fans for nothing, no matter how crazy netizens can get.

To make things more upset for 6-ara, their 3rd anniversary day is the day the Londom Olympics started. It's not hard to imagine K-netizens being all excited for their country to do well in the Olympics, only to stumble upon something like this at the exact same day, merely hours after the opening ceremony. I'd point out it's most obvious why Jiyeon would get the most flame out of all the other members since she's a 93'er like Hwayoung, the most popular and also probably the most infamous at the same time in the public's eye. Bullying is seen as a major social issue in Korea and with all those previous cases broken out by the media where students only at the age of middle school committing suicide as a result of it, a case revolving around a popular girl group is only going to bring more anger and hate from the public. Honestly, this one sounds like the biggest scandal for T-ara to date - and one that both T-ara and fans should prepare for the worst in particular.

Couldn't have said it better myself. I think you deserve a gold medal for this analysis. Regarding your 3:3 split, I think you should also consider the income distribution amongst the members as a factor as well. Hyomin, Eunjung and Jiyeon obviously earn a heapload from their individual activities in comparison to Soyeon, Boram and Qri - who probably don't even get half as much as the other three. I read from Seoulbeats that CCM's profit distribution system is similar to that of SM's - the company gets the vast percentage of profit from group activites while members keep what they get from individual activities. That is BOUND to create quite a level of awkwardness, conflict, tension, jealousy and the like along the way behind-the-scenes. Suju and SNSD had gone through similar experiences, if not worse (apparently in Suju's case, even the dinner table was thrown upside down on one occasion). Reason 2 also has a lot of cultural factors as well. I mean, it happens everywhere in Korea. I've witnesses it occur in schools and needless to say, it's a pretty ugly sight and experience. I won't even bother getting started on how much worse it is in the ROK military. On the side note - I find it also terribly unfortunate that the incident occurred right at the day the London Olympics have just taken place. That is some seriously nasty timing. K-netizens were probably going all "WOOHOOOOO GO KOREA!!!!" only to stumble upon something like this on the same day.

All things considered, I think it's understandable for the public to lash out so harshly. T-ara had been rising at the pace of a rocket in popularity, only to see such a big mess like this (coupled with CCM's idiocy and the member additions issue) just swat them down hard. The only natural response is that a lot of people would throw quite a fit - whether it be fans or the average Joe.

Coming from a fellow Korean as well, I also stumbled upon the same thing as well after digging around and such. Considering Jiyeon is also the same AGE as Hwayoung, it couldn't get any worse. I honestly can't imagine Boram, Qri and the rest actually being given the majority of the blame from the public. Judging from that CCM's profit distribution system is that the company receives the bulk of money made from group activities while individual activities go to the members themselves, we can't deny the strong possibility that some amount of hierarchy based on who earns more than the other is likely to be present with a level of disregard towards age. Super Junior and SNSD can testify. For all fans out there, I'll keep this relatively short and simple - all of you need to buckle up for a really bumpy ride and prepare for the worst to happen. So far, 2012 has been a really bad year for them. I always was convinced and very affirmed that something extremely nasty for T-ara (both as a group and down to the individual members) was going to happen at some point later in the year but never expected that it would happen so SOON, especially in the midst of promotions. Stay strong, fellas. I got a feeling T-ara's going to lose a LOT of fans as a result of this - both international and Koreans. This is making the member additions issue seem like a walk in the park.

“I think Big Bang's G-Dragon sunbae is. He constantly tries out unique and diverse styles. More than that, every item has a story behind it and even the smallest detail contributes a theme. His attention to detail stands out. I think he mix-and-matches really well.” Huh....I know G-Dragon is known for his rather unique and diverse fashion (I think he and BB played quite a role in Korea's youth fashion especially from late 2007 to 2010) but there clearly are times when he sort of plays it a bit too far. His hair and that Hulk-like jacket in Blue...<no comment> I won't even bother talking about those all-red costumes in one of their Fantastic Baby perfs lol. If Hyomin followed GD's style....I'd be rendered speechless. "But she says she doesn't have time to take care of her body due to the busy schedule until February next year." That is NOT good news, at all. February next year? Gosh, their workload this year seems to make 2011 seem like a walk in the park now.

While they don't want to be pressured themselves on becoming #1 (unattainable at best currently due to SNSD's massive popularity still overshining the rest out there), the same certainly cannot be said about that knockhead of a CEO of theirs.

I think you're taking it a bit too optimistically to think the girls have accepted her already. When it comes to Kpop, image perfection is a critical thing that agencies go through extensively to establish and this is just one of the many countless cases. They've been practically threatened to accept the whole decision unless they want to get kicked out so it's not like T-ara had a choice to begin with, unlike the fans and the public (although they probably still resent it a lot in the inside) Behind-the-scenes, it's entirely up to speculation for the most part. There's a reason why they're not dorming together, aside from spending what little spare time they have with their family.

News article has also forgotten to add that Dani can't speak an ounce of Korean either. Oh boy....

Not going to say it again in detail but here's my piece of advice/message to Areum: Don't drop the soap and be thankful that you're not dorming with the original six members because if you do, chances of trouble occurring are very, very likely - that I'm fully sure of. You've got one hell of a bumpy ride and potentially, a very bad disaster down the path waiting to happen anytime since T-ara faces the chance of crashing into a brick wall like JYJ and KARA more than other groups out there - and is at severely intense competition with 2NE1 and SISTAR as well as Suju. The timing couldn't get any worse. If you're gonna get accepted by both the majority of the fans and the T-ara members themselves, learn your place in the group and don't screw things up even worse than they are. I'm pretty sure everyone out there knows that shoddy company you're in is seen in a negative light even more than SM is.

I'd argue that the chance of Soyeon being sincere about it are minimal at best and zero at worst. See above post for detail - I think I pretty much explained why it's better not for them to dorm together for the time being (or even for the long term, much like KARA, where all the members live individually or with their families - that lawsuit back in 2010 is bound to have created a bit of a rift, especially for Gyru). As for the leader switch position, that one's debatable. Boram herself wasn't exactly popular when she was leader and Jiyeon's leadership capabilities (if any) are questionable at best. In a group of soon-to-be nine members, having the third youngest as the leader isn't exactly a wise choice - especially when Jiyeon's more likely to be used to being the youngest of the group and has yet to display extraordinary capabilities of being a leader. The timing is also pretty bad, with the member additions and all. Imagine if the current members got in an argument or were abusing the new members - Jiyeon obviously would be likely to take the current members' side or be helpless to settle things down, especially when it comes to 'stronger' members such as Soyeon.

Yes, it IS hard to believe. I don't know whether if it's due to culture or simply just the way how Korean society works (or hell, maybe both) but newbies aren't generally considered welcome for the most part, whether it be school, work or even the military (at least from what I hear, recruits get hazed a LOT by those of higher rank, even from those of barely just one rank higher and those who transfer units over reasons related to abuse or some beef with their own comrades generally have it worse), at least from my knowledge and experience from living in Korea since 07 to the end of 09. New people are expected to work the hell out of their ass to gain acceptance from those who've already been around. Getting into the place because of your parents' influence or position (which can be applied to Areum's case, arguably) doesn't really give you much of a good impression either, regardless of whatever you have to offer. However, on my experience of how Korean society is like, chances are that the current members dislike the new members - they can't express it fully obviously given how tight their image is controlled, no matter how calm and happy they look on the screen about the whole issue. Korea's obsessive with perfection and anyone who's considered 'unusual' in the group is going to have it extremely difficult to cope. Schools are bad enough when it comes to this and considering how cutthroat the Kpop industry is, it'd be a lot worse. Along with that, none of us here know T-ara personally ourselves and all we see is the variety shows, interviews and concerts to a degree to get a glimpse - granted, not everything can be considered 'false' in variety shows and interviews but then again, the Kpop industry focuses heavily, if not fanatically, on image perfection and idols are immensely pressured to pull it off, especially female idols due to double standards. They'd have more reasons to dislike the decision of the new member additions and the date of joining is certainly not one of the most biggest ones. T-ara ain't godly saints. There's a reason why they're not dorming together as a group. Make a group of newbies and seniors dorm togther and there's bound to be trouble happening for both sides, unless the newbies practically make themselves be like slaves to the latter and allow themselves to be abused for whatever small fault. That's just how it works in Korea. While KKS has threatened to kick out the original members if something like this were to happen, that doesn't necessarily mean Areum and Dani are necessarily going to report everything to him and I doubt he's able to keep surveillance 24/7 literally. Additionally, the timeline of T-ara's member addition has a major difference to those other groups out there - it was a decision that was made in the current peak of their popularity, not during a time where they were struggling for relevancy. This is why the current member addition has become a far more intensively controversial issue compared to Hwayoung's addition, during which T-ara wasn't exactly widely popular at the time - fans aside, everyone else didn't give much of a damn about it but this? It got the attention of both. If this member addition is justified, then it also indirectly means people acknowledge that the original T-ara members are 'lazy' and 'prideful' - the former especially is a whole big bag of bogus to begin with.

I'm pretty sure her dad would have foreseen that considering that Roly Poly is quite vaguely similar to what our parents back in the 70s and 80s would have danced to in their youth days. Concept-wise, it is also reminded MY parents of their college/uni days back in Seoul whenever they went out with their friends (and hell, my parents are generally critical of Kpop themselves as a whole). However, Boram becoming a singer is a mixed bag of a reaction for me. She hasn't gotten very much (if any) chance to be individually promoted, yet alone showcase whatever talent she may have (which is also highly questionable). As for the question related to the new members and her answer - as I said with Soyeon, Boram and the rest of T-ara have a gun pointed at their head - they oppose it in any way, then they're off the group indefinitely. Anyone who remembers what KKS said prior to the photoshoot to Europe would know very well that the girls cannot be fully honest in these interviews when it comes to the new members unless they want to be kicked out and possibly blacklisted. Not even Boram's dad can be guaranteed to prevent that.

I'm guessing she may have dented it or had a minor fracture I suppose. Although it's hard to imagine she would have WANTED to perform in the comeback for the fans. Performing with such an injury isn't exactly what I call something to praise for and she clearly should be taking care of herself first. Pleasing the fans with eye candy can come in any time but getting a medical rest is an urgent must. This sort of reminds me the particular incident where she injured her knee pretty bad last year in the RP promotions, yet still had to perform as well as Eunjung's case with the Lovey Dovey promotions as well. Actually, it seems like T-ara overall is jinxed. Eunjung's leg injury earlier this year, Boram getting acute gastritis just prior to the Japanese tour and now this.

When it comes to idols, the majority of words they say to the press can never be trusted wholly and even in documentaries, they definitely don't say everything in detail (look at SM's 'I Am' being a close example of this). Soyeon would have HAD to say that otherwise she would have faced the very likelihood of getting booted from T-ara indefinitely - which goes to say, KKS himself threatened to kick any of them out if they ever opposed the new member addition in any way imaginable. To put it simply, Soyeon had a gun pointed at her head when she said that. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out.

Theoratically, dorming would bring them closer but do also note that the members also need to spend time with their families as well. Coming from a Korean who's lived away from his mother and brothers for 2 years+ and only visiting them in the winter holidays AND having dormed at a Korean high school as well, nine people is more than hectic. There was a total of roughly 30 guys dorming at the said school, myself included, divided into six rooms with four guys per room. All the rooms almost quickly became a terrible pigsty no matter how many times we cleaned them up and it was just as bad with the girls' room, if not worse. If four people in a dorm are capable of pulling something like that off, I don't even want to imagine how much worse it can get with double the number. T-ara themselves also have little time for R&R (rest and refit) thanks to CCM being a bunch of slave owners so even if they do manage to spend what little spare time they have together in the dorms, who's going to clean up the mess left in the house when they're away? They can't rely on their parents to do it all the time and CCM is probably too cheap to hire a couple of cleaners or simply can't be bothered getting a big enough dorm to house them all in (though as said above, chances of it becoming a massive pigsty need to be considered, furthered with the problem that they won't have much energy to do much house chores for the most part either). From what I heard, it's likely some of the members' contracts are going to end later next year or after, that is if they signed the contract some years before debuting (which by default, includes their trainee years too) and that CCM's contracts can range anywhere between 4-7 years. If this is indeed the case, then there's a chance that the original six members' contracts are close to expiring as well as increasing the likelihood of transforming T-ara overall to a concept similar to After School. I wouldn't think they have anything else longer than that since SM had its 13yr contracts sliced down to 7 indefinitely by the government a while back and anything above that number is likely to attract suspicious eyebrows. Though considering how terribly overworked they are, it is very likely that the contract can be terminated by KKS himself any time he wishes if they cross him even one bit. The same can be said possibly applied to Co-Ed School to some degree, considering that members Kangho and Soomi were forced out over ludricous reasons (and in general, contracts themselves are quite unfair and are comparable to volunteering to becoming a slave). The bigger concern I'd have is that even if the members do move labels once their contract expires, he would potentially blacklist them as much as he can to prevent them from ever mentioning how much they were slave-driven (like what SM's doing to JYJ, pathetically). He obviously had no problem threatening to kick them out, as you said and definitely was vocal about insisting KARA should be blacklisted permanently from the showbizz simply for filing a lawsuit against their agency. Technically speaking, the 'old' T-ara is generally a reference to 6-ara, the time before Hwayoung joined the group.

I'd have to disagree. They need as much time as needed to be with their families too, whom they probably rarely stayed with last year.

Huh....being scolded is never a great thing. I could probably compare Soyeon with SNSD's Jessica when it comes down to scolding. Both give off the cold vibe that tells me 'Yup, don't want to cross her even one bit. Gotta be extra careful'. Considering how overworked idols are, I don't think ANY average Joe would want to get on their bad side even one bit.

Yea, he said it to the press some time before the photoshoot to Europe took place. In short, anyone under him that rebels gets blacklisted like JYJ got from SM (and it still continues to this day). I sincerely hope by 'individual member having a career of their own' also includes Boram and Qri as well since they hadn't been promoted for God knows how long.

Well, of course she had to say as if it doesn't affect her negatively. Idols, particularly female idols, in Kpop are expected to be happy little angels by the media and the public as well as the fans themselves. They do anything slightly that's 'off the radar' then they get hounded mercilessly by netizens. After all, KKS did say that if any of the current members opposed the member addition themselves, they'd be kicked out. This hardly comes as a surprise. There is a reason why she and Eunjung (or was it Hyomin?) played it off cool when asked at the airport prior to the trip to europe. This comes off as a no surprise to me.

Seeing only six of them there, reminds me of the good old days of 6-ara, even though Jiyeon herself isn't there. *Sigh*

I generally don't believe in superstituous stuff but a part of me had always been giving me the feeling that T-ara's had some pretty bad karma struck on them, even compared with other major groups. I mean, this isn't the first time Jiyeon got seriously injured (both mentally and physically, if y'all remember the scandal back in late 2010) and Eunjung and Hyomin had their own share of injuries and fatigue too, followed by Boram not so long ago with acute gastritis. Is it wrong to think that things might even get worse? So far, they've not only had health issues but also injuries, incompetent management and being severely overworked like slaves. Who knows what else could happen this summer and beyond? Man, I got a bad feeling about this. For any religious folks here, give them a prayer or two. They're gonna need all the luck they can get.

Granted, they do look lovely in the photos but....the title seems a bit misleading here....free time, yet they needed to take photos for those? Doesn't look like they were able to spend 'free time' with themselves.

I get the feeling that it's only a fraction of their schedules as well, since they'd also have to practice long hours for choreography and Lord knows what else they have to do. That timetable just looks too clean. It's as if CCM's trying to tell people that T-ara's schedules aren't as jampacked. Remember when T-ara said they had 12 activities a day one time?