Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
As the allegations of bullying continue to swirl around Korean entertainment, one recently stood out for allegations that involved a girl group, with the alleged brother of former APRIL member Hyunjoo coming forward to say she was bullied by the other members.
Hyunjoo debuted in 2015 with April, but went on hiatus in May of 2016 for health reasons, and then left the group in October to focus on her acting career. Her brother said that wasn’t true and that she left because she was harassed and bullied to the point where she attempted suicide.
Hello, I am former APRIL member Hyunjoo’s younger brother. I’ve always wanted to reveal the truth for years, but I was holding it back for Hyunjoo’s future. But now, I think I have to be brave and speak up, so I am writing this post. My sister is said to have left APRIL to focus on her acting career, but that is not true. She was severely harassed and bullied in the group, and suffered from breathing difficulties and panic attacks. Eventually, she even tried to take her own life. Thinking back to those times, both our parents and I still feel like our hearts are going to be ripped apart. [My sister who had now left the group, received a letter from the company instructing her to write that she was leaving the group to focus on acting. My sister simply did what she was told and my family did not know about this. We believed she had been doing what was right for her.]* At the time, even my family didn’t know that. Everyone thought it was what you wanted to do, and that was the right thing. However, after writing the letter, my sister became portrayed as a person who betrayed her team for her own benefit, and was a victim of malicious comments that are so difficult to comprehend. After that, she didn’t get any apologies from the APRIL members. Instead, some members of the group laughed when they saw our mother visiting the agency. Even today, Hyunjoo is working hard in her profession. So I was holding back, just in case it would hurt her image. I’m telling you all this because I can’t watch the members, who are living well, continue on as if they did nothing wrong. Even though I’m having a hard time, I’m even more upset and angry when I think about how my sister must have felt. I don’t want to see them perform anymore. I hope they stop appearing on television and reminding my family about that time. I don’t want to see my sister having a hard time anymore.
The brother provided proof that would be hard to obtain by any random.
He proved himself to be her younger brother by posting the family relations document, showing her name (and her known birthday) along with his name blurred out but his birthday listed. He is known to be born in 2004, just like the poster claims. He also posted selfies she took with him.
DSP Media responded by saying they are checking facts.
April debuted with six members (Somin, Chaewon, Hyunjoo, Naeun, Yena, Jinsol) with Somin leaving in November of 2015 and Chaekyung and Rachel being added to replace Hyunjoo, and that remains their lineup until today.
There are multiple reasons to wait on this that can be resolved relatively easily. Obviously whether it’s her brother should be checked easily, and the responses from all the parties involved should be had soon as well since they are all known entities.
