Allegations of bullying that supposedly went on within the South Korean girl group April has been going around for months. And now, three of its members have finally spoken up. Hyunjoo, 23, released a statement on Instagram where she explained her experience when she lived in a dorm with the other five members of the group.
She recounted that,
“The bullying began in 2014, when I was preparing for my debut, and continued until 2016, when I left the group. I was 17 years old at the time and had to live in a dorm while preparing to debut, so I had to spend 24 hours a day with the perpetrators in a place where there was no one I could lean on.”
“During those three years, I was forced to suffer because of violent actions and behaviour, ridicule, swearing and attacks on my character. And it was especially painful to bear groundless insults and attacks on the character of my precious grandmother, mum, dad and younger brother,” she said.
She also added that her agency, DSP Media, was aware of what was happening but did not take any action.
“The contents of her post are a one-sided, distorted assertion that is far from the objective truth,” the agency stated.
April members Chaewon and Yena also separately denied the allegations.
“I always felt that one member was constantly pushing us away. When something happened to all of us, she thought of herself as the only victim. And even in a situation that arose by coincidence, she acted like we were the perpetrators,” Yena said.
Hyunjoo eventually left the girl group. Since then, she has appeared in drama series such as ‘The Witch Store’, a teen fantasy romance, and ‘Touch Me If You Can’, a web drama.
*Cover image via Instagram @hyun.joo_lee