130522 T-ARA Continues to Receive Criticism, ‘Any Solution in Sight?’

T-ARA’s bullying controversy was a huge issue, as it became a turning point for the girl group who was soaring higher than ever at the time the news broke out. Ever since then, T-ARA has been on a constant downward spiral and is now widely regarded as a group of ‘bad’ girls.

T-ARA tried everything they could do resolve the issue, remove the stigma, or at least control the damage somewhat. They put together a spin-off group in T-ARA N4, continued activities despite controversies and came back with ‘Country Diary’ which is based on a drama that has a place in many Koreans’ hearts as the longest TV show in Korean history. They made appearances in talk shows to grab the bull by the horns and recently announced their move to the U.S. market.

If any other idol group did the things above, they may have received a lot of support and perhaps even forgiveness. All are proven strategies that have worked well in the past to rescue tainted images of celebrities. But it has not worked for T-ARA as they are still widely disliked by the public.

Why has the tide not turned for T-ARA?

The biggest reason lies in the society’s animosity towards bullying. Bullying is a prevalent social problem that is near to many people in their own childhoods or those of their children’s. As such, the public responds more sensitively to it and carries a lasting effect than unlike most other scandals. Also, it does not help T-ARA that teenagers, who has the loudest voice on the Internet, are the most repulsive to bullying.

Another reason is in how T-ARA handled the bullying controversy. They never directly addressed it, Hwa Young left T-ARA, and the public still does not have a good idea about what actually took place behind closed doors. No apology, no explanation, only excuses.

Overall, T-ARA avoided the problem altogether, counting on the public’s poor memory and tendency to move on to the next big issue. But the wound was left untreated and it has now festered after a period of negligence.

There is only one solution that may change the public’s perspective at this point. It is to make it big overseas and make people proud for T-ARA’s success. Certainly, it is no guarantee that their success will win back the hearts of those who have turned their backs. But it is their best shot.