Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
While reports had circulated earlier of a famous girl group member visiting a club in Itaewon associated with the most recent outbreak of COVID-19 in South Korea, no name had been attached until recently. Following the idol being identified as KARA‘s Gyuri by reports, both her and company Creative Kkot released statements acknowledging this and apologizing.
“Park Gyuri is deeply reflecting [her actions] and once again apologizes. She was wearing a mask from the time of entry to the time of departure, and when the article about the confirmed case was released, she voluntarily visited the screening center before receiving a call from the district office and was immediately examined. She is currently in self-isolation after testing negative [for the virus].”
“Regardless of all the reasons, I would like to deeply reflect and apologize for not following the guidelines that everyone should follow during the period of social distancing. I wore a mask from the moment I entered [the club] and kept it on until I left. On the day the article about the confirmed case came out, I immediately went to get examined, and I tested negative [for the virus]. I am currently in self-isolation. Once again, I apologize.”
The company later clarified that she had temporarily taken the mask off for less than a minute at one point, probably to guard against anything surfacing where she has her mask off.
Note: While this whole mess is not funny, it is funny that she was apparently seen cause she was dancing to KARA.
Okay, so since everybody already knows by now why this has become a big deal aside from the outbreak itself, it seems safe to note that while the club she visited isn’t named, the outbreak has been connected to gay clubs and since has led to a bunch of homophobia.
As far as Gyuri goes, it wasn’t the best idea at this juncture to go clubbing for reasons that should be obvious, and I do believe she should apologize for it as this hardly tracks as something essential.
Though as many are pointing out, the problem is mainly that people in general are just out and about now, so anybody being linked to this outbreak seems like bad luck more than anything.
As far as I know she didn’t violate any rules either, though that may be part of the problem, proven by the government only now cracking down on clubs, bars, and other establishments of the sort.
Regardless, the fallout from this will probably not be good either for her, the LGBT community in Korea, and Korea at large. Hoping for the best, though.
