Bullying in the K-Entertainment world: Hyunjin (Stray Kids), HyunA, and Song Ha-yoon

Actress Song Ha-yoon, who plays a villain role in 'Marry My Husband, has been an alleged bully in an ironic twist. She is yet another celebrity who's accused of being a bully.

Content warning: this article contains descriptions of bullying and violence and may disturb some readers.

Image: JYP Entertainment, PSY Entertainment, UCUBE

The K-Entertainment bullying scandal began with a discussion of several professional volleyball players who were accused of bullying in 2021, according to a CNN report. With this scandal in the news, the focus shifted from sports to entertainment, with allegations of bullying leveled against several celebrities.

Image: JYP Entertainment

According to Soompi, Aisha from the girl group EVERGLOW was accused by a netizen of harassing her. The anonymous report mentions that Aisha was s * x u a l l y harassing and physically assaulting the victim for dating the same man - all of which resulted in the victim’s reputation being damaged throughout her middle school years.

Image: Yuehua Entertainment

In response to the allegations, Yuehua Entertainment, who manages EVERGLOW, denied the rumors and threatened to take legal action against the anonymous netizen for defaming Aisha’s image.

Image: Yuehua Entertainment

Koreaboo reports that Chuu from the girl group LOONA was accused by a netizen who identified themself as a former middle school classmate. The accuser claims that Chuu sowed discord between her and the other classmates, leading to the accuser being isolated during middle school. Two others have also come out and accused Chuu of bullying in elementary and middle school.

Image: Blockberry Creative

One accusation was soon followed up with an apology from the same netizen later in the same week. The Korea Times reported that the netizen posted a handwritten apology admitting that the accusations were untrue and exaggerated, and the accusation stemmed from her bad relationship with Chuu during middle school. The other two have yet to retract their accusations.

Image: Blockberry Creative

Despite the apology, Chuu’s management, Blockberry Creative, will be proceeding with suing the accuser, along with the other two, for defaming their artiste.

Image: Blockberry Creative

Hyunjin from JYP Entertainment managed K-pop boyband Stray Kids has been accused by multiple netizens of bullying in middle school. The accuser noted that Hyunjin would 'out' them in their class group chat and utter insensitive comments regarding a person’s appearances and personal familial situations, Koreaboo reports.

Image: JYP Entertainment

Hyunjin was first accused of bullying back in 2018. According to Koreaboo, the report was however deemed to be a false report due to how there was no follow-up from the accuser. An ex-classmate of Hyunjin’s from middle school also came forward testifying for his innocence.

Image: JYP Entertainment

Continuing on the report of the latest accusation against Hyunjin this year, the accuser followed up his accusation with several screenshots on the chat messaging app KakaoTalk discussing the bullying incidents with two other ex-classmates.

Image: JYP Entertainment

Following the accusations, Hyunjin has since admitted to bullying and apologized to his victims. From BBC, JYP Entertainment, who manages Stray Kids has issued an official statement, announcing that Hyunjin will be retiring from showbiz.

Image: JYP Entertainment

However, it appears that the scandal has had little impact on Hyunjin's K-pop career as of 2023. Hyunjin is still a member of Stray Kids and returned to K-pop in June 2021 after a four-month hiatus.

Image: JYP Entertainment

Another accused of middle school bullying is Monsta X’s Kihyun. Kihyun’s accuser alleged that the K-pop idol would bully his victims through physical and psychological violence.

Image: Starship Entertainment

In response to the bullying allegations, Starship Entertainment which manages Kihyun announced that they will be reaching out to the accuser to clarify the claims.

Image: Starship Entertainment

From Allkpop, Kihyun’s accuser claimed that instead of approaching them to clarify the rumors for the truth of the matter, they accused Starship Entertainment of trying to cover up for Kihyun’s scandal. Moving forward, the accuser has announced that they intend to file a criminal lawsuit against Kihyun for bullying.

Image: Starship Entertainment

Kihyun, like Hyunjin from Stray Kids, is still active in K-pop and with Monsta X. According to the Korea Times, the actor referred to his actions at the time as "immaturity" and publicly apologized for them. His agency, on the other hand, claims that he has never bullied anyone and has threatened to sue any potential accusers.

Image: Starship Entertainment

K-pop royalty HyunA is next up on the list to be accused of bullying. According to Koreaboo, a netizen posted on a public forum alleging that the idol slapped several classmates in the face during elementary school. Confident in their accusation, the accuser also called for others who have attended the same elementary school and middle school as HyunA to come out with their testimonies.

Image: PSY Entertainment

From The Straits Times, HyunA took to responding on Instagram against the allegations. On Instagram, the pop idol denied having ever slapped anyone and iterated that she had little time to form friendships and interact with her peers due to having to head for idol training immediately after school.

Image: PSY Entertainment

Standing by their artist, P-Nation released a statement to announce that the accusations were false and that they will not hesitate to sue any more of HyunA’s accusers for defamation if the allegations persist.

Image: PSY Entertainment

Star of ‘Sky Castle’ actor Jo Byung Gyu is another K-pop celebrity who has been accused of bullying pre-debut. In an online post, an anonymous accuser came forward in a post claiming that the actor bullied them in school while in New Zealand.

Image: SBS

According to The Straits Times, three other people have come forward with statements related to the initial accusation. Two added that they too were also physically bullied by Jo Byung Gyu, while the other insisted that the allegations were false and defended the actor.

Image: JTBC

The actor took to Instagram to release several statements regarding the allegations. The Straits Times reported that the actor’s Instagram post on 10 March stated: "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”.

Image: Netflix

Jo Byung Gyu further lamented that it is difficult for him to prove himself innocent for an incident that allegedly happened up to 16 years ago. Responding directly to his accuser, the actor also added that he feels no pity for the accuser having lost his job as a result of their accusation against the actor, insisting that the firing is due to the accuser’s own fault and not direct causation from the bullying allegations.

Image: Netflix

Having worked hard to restore his damaged reputation from the accusations, Jo Byung Gyu is back to work and has managed to return to work as an actor in 'The Uncanny Counter'. Interestingly, he now is co-starring with Kim Hieora, who is the latest in those accused of bullying in the K-entertainment world.

Image: TvN

According to a Dispatch report, actress Kim Hieora has been accused of extorting money from and physically abusing schoolmates during her time in middle school.

Image: Netflix

Kim Hieora's case has been the most ironic out of all the K-idols accused, as she not only had played a bully character in 'The Glory', a show centered around revenge against high school bullies, Kim Hieora too now stars next to fellow accused bully Jo Byung Gyu in 'The Uncanny Counter'.

Image: TvN

Another embroiled in the bullying scandal is Soojin from (G)I-DLE. From Pinkvilla, the idol has been accused of being a main participant in bullying a pair of siblings during her middle school days. Adding fuel to the fire, another anonymous netizen further reported that Soojin also bullied a former schoolmate who is currently also in the k-entertainment industry, actress Seo Shin Ae.

Image: UCUBE

Following the accusations, alleged victim actress Seo Shin Ae posted a cryptic message on her Instagram story with the words, “None of your excuse”. Many netizens have interpreted it as a hint towards the truth of the allegations.

Further, the actress has also been open about being bullied during middle school and did not reveal any names. With the accusations and the timing of her Instagram story, it is no surprise that many have theorized the identity of Seo Shin Ae’s bully to be (G)I-DLE’s Soojin.

Image: UCUBE

In response to the allegations, UCUBE, Soojin’s agency, has responded with an official statement with a personal response from Soojin. In the statement, Soojin admitted to partaking in certain ‘delinquent behaviors’ such as smoking. Despite the admission of ‘less-than-model’ behavior in middle school, Soojin insisted that she did not participate in the bullying of any individuals and denied any interaction with Seo Shin Ae.

Image: UCUBE

Along with her personal statement, UCUBE announced that Soojin will be taking a break from participating in any promotional activities as a result of the scandal, Allkpop reports.

Image: UCUBE

Song Ha-yoon, like Kim Hieora, has been accused of being a bully. According to Korea JoongAng Daily, allegations against her include 'slapping her victim for 90 minutes'.

Song Ha-yoon played a villain role in the Korean drama 'Marry My Husband', which is a similar instance to that of Kim Hieora's, where an alleged real-life villain played a fictional one. When the allegations first surfaced, Korean netizens were shocked because she had a good reputation prior to the accusations.

Image: hayoonsong1202 / Instagram