Here's How Easy It Is To Spread Dis-information On Twitter Despite An On-going TELEVISED Trial

Update: In June 2020, seven months after Hara's death, Jong-bum (ver ex-boyfriend 💩) was sentenced to a year in prison in the revenge-porn case, with a South Korean court ruling (via the South China Morning Post) that Jong-bum had "seriously damaged" Hara's reputation and left her with "irreversible trauma."

Goo Hara's story is one of the most tragic and rough in kpop history. And in light of the recent events, I'd like to share it.

It's pretty possible that most of you (ppl who weren't around for 2nd generation prime) dont know Goo Hara or her legendary group KARA. The group was among the top three girl groups nation wise, and number one in Japan.

But when KARA debuted it wasn't very popular, so when one member left, the company saw the opportunity to revamp the group and they added two new members. One of those was Goo Hara. She was introduced as main dancer and visual.

Hara's integration helped the group. Her innocent beauty in contrast to an effortless sex appeal caused men and women, children and adults, to fall in love with the idol, and this new fandom catapulted the group. Even though before debut she already had many fans, she already had antis too. A big portion of the original fandom rejected the integration of Hara. So from day one Hara had a strong individual fandom, but the group's fandom hated her.

Hara became the it girl of the moment, getting all the commercial contracts - this generated animosity from the fandom that questioned why she was the only one who was given the opportunities and why she did not participate in the commercial activities of the group. This did not weigh much on Hara at first, since she was somewhat accustomed to hate for no reason - in high school she was the victim of such extreme bullying that she had to change schools several times. She had the general public in her palms, so a portion of the fandom hating her was manageable.

But the love and support from the general public didn't last long, as netizens searched the internet to find something to destroy her and succeeded. They found Hara's teenage blog from before she was and idol, and in it they found photos of her in a hostel on her 17th birthday with her boyfriend at the time. They published them saying that Hara had had a romantic stay at the hostel and therefore she had sex while being a minor. And although the company denied it and Hara's friends said it had been a group trip, the netizens sought witnesses to support their accusations and thus began the gossip that Hara was promiscuous. This accusations gained notoriety when her relationship with Junhyun of B2ST became public. And so netizens invented her love affairs with many idols.

The situation reached a climax in Radio Star, when the MC asked KARA what topic they didn't want to talk about, to which Hara replied "dating." The three MCs started joking with Hara's promiscuity in a rather heavy way. And although it is well known that this type of image is harmful to an idol (mostly female idols) the MCs continued with the jokes. Hara tried to laugh it off but it was a comment from Kyuhyun that made her crack, being the gossip expert on the show, he said "if I said what I know, her career would be over." It was then that Hara threw him a bottle of juice playfully and then broke into tears. Hara was accused of being violent, unprofessional and disrespectful by netizens. And when one of the MCs came out in her defense and apologized for what they had done, the netizens said that "Hara's tantrums had forced him to apologize" and they hated her more.

Shortly after this, KARA disintegrated. But despite everything, Hara made a fortune as a commercial model. And there is nothing that netizens hate more than a successful, independent and wealthy woman. Especially if she achieves so despite public hate. And even more, if this successful, independent and wealthy woman is best friends with another successful, independent and wealthy woman (Sulli) that netizens also tried to destroy. And so, Goo Hara moved on with her life, even though the hate never stopped.

On September 4, 2018, Goo Hara (who is 1.64 and is so thin that she has been accused of being anorexic) was accused of beating her boyfriend. For the following week there were no signs of Hara, while the boyfriend appeared in the media several times a day giving interviews about it, and saying that she had gone crazy when he tried to end the relationship. He said he wasn't going to go public at first but when he got home he realized she had "disfigured" him and his face "is a big part of how he makes a living" (he's a hairdresser) so he decided to let everyone know the type of person she is. At some point the guy gave an interview in a hospital gown and connected to serum, despite having given interviews without these things several days before, and the hospital records shows he only had scratches. But despite being suspicious, the netizens did not need more, and cited what happened on radio star, her promiscuity and her friendship with Sulli as evidence of her violence and imbalance, and demanded jail time for Hara.

Time after that, Hara finally appeared on the media, which she had not done because she had been hospitalized due to the beating that the boyfriend (the alleged victim) gave her. Attack that damaged her internal organs to the degree of causing severe bleeding. Incidentally, there was damage to her intimate organs, so a rape is suspected, although it was never confirmed as such. And although Hara presented evidence and a witness, the netizens did not believe her, they said that she paid the witness and that, because she was promiscuous, her word had no worth. It was then that Dispatch revealed that the boyfriend had offered them the premise of the matter, then screenshots of the guy blackmailing Hara with an intimate video that he filmed against her will came to light. Just then the netizens decided to listen to her. The witness (Hara's roomie) came out to give her version of the facts: the guy had entered without permission with the access code and had woken Hara by kicking the bed. The witness and the messages proved that Hara had broke up with him and he wanted to blackmail her with the intimate video and threatened to end her career, Hara tried to take the video, and the guy beat her up. After that, he destroyed averything and anything he could find at the apartment, while Hara begged him not to publish the video. In the week that Hara was hospitalized the guy sent her threats and fragments of the video as blackmail.

For a while Hara had the empathy of the netizens, but the case was never resolved judicially, and the public eventually forgot what happened and attacked Hara again. This year Hara uploaded a photo to her social media for the first time, thanking the support she received in those difficult moments. And the netizens accused her of attention seeking, they said that if she was really hurt she shouldn't be on social media after what happened, and accused her of being unaware of the damage she caused her ex - who could no longer show his face in public. Soon she went to Japan to fulfill previous contracts and they accused her of fleeing, of indifference and said that what had happened hadn't been so serious if she was already working and she had made a big drama for nothing. Meanwhile the ex is active in social media and opened a new beauty salon, which was very successful. And as if that were not enough, the ex-boyfriend, Junghyun (B2ST) ended up entangled in the Seungri/Rising Sun scandal. And although it has been said that he was not an active participant beyond commenting on the videos that JJY sent, the netizens insisted that there were videos and intimate photos of Hara in the infamous chats.

After this, Hara uploaded a picture and netizens accused her of getting plastic surgery. Hara said that she had eyelid surgery for medical reasons and asked people to stop attacking her, but the netizens ignored and attacked her for the surgery.

May 25th 2019, Hara was found unconscious in her apartment. It was said it had been a suicide attempt. This incident, unlike others in the world of kpop, did not have a wave of positive and empathetic comments wishing her recovery, but the comments were insults, offenses and ridicule towards Hara. They even reproached her for her lack of success in committing suicide, accused her of faking it, said that the news were false to get attention and attacked her more than ever.

Soon after that Hara los her best friend.

This news were devastating but they were not a surprise, at least to me. I made a post about Sulli's passing asking people to support Hara, because I knew that she would be next. She had already tried. And she got hate for not succeeding.

A lot of the kpop fandom now wasn't around for most of the second generation mess. We had idols poisoned, attacked, and destroyed by netizens. There still are many idols victims of slave contracts and abuse but back then you saw the proof of those things regularly. With idols passing out and stuff.

Korea, specifically its treatment of celebrities is crap. Its inhuman. As international fans we should spread love for idols. And ask the companies to care for them, we should watch for their best interests as humans. What Hyuna and Edawn are doing, going on variety shows and doing photoshoots together as a couple is huge. What Mamamoo has been doing is huge. What Holland is doing is huge. Please support the idols who are actively fighting to change Koreas celebrity culture. ITS IMPORTANT.

And its important to know the stories of idols like Hara, Hangeng, T-ARA... because this idols were victims and where given nothing but hate. Hate that ended their careers or in Hara and Sulli's case, their lives. Hate kills. Haters kill. Not allowing people to live a plenty life, kills. Not allowing people to make mistakes, kills. I hope you read Hara's story and pay attention to female idols with a bad reputation, they're vulnerable in so many ways. And I hope that, in the future, when an idol survives a suicide attempt y'all wont ignore it like you did Hara.

REST IN PEACE🙏💔💔🙏

I think I'll just rant about this so tw for transphobia and some swearing ahead

•••

I'm SO damn sick of people defending JKR. From the "It wasn't that bad" to the cis(!) people saying "What she said wasn't transphobic", fuck all of that.

And fuck cis people making it all about themselves when trans people talk about how harmful JKR is.

The first person I ever came out to as non binary was my best friend at the time. Not even a week later she talked to me about how much she loved Harry Potter and all. Which was fine by me, she's allowed to like whatever the hell she wants, I can't police her.

However, personally, it makes me uncomfortable to talk about JKR's stuff cuz her views just bother me. So, I just said "Sorry, but I personally try to stay away from Harry Potter and JKR in general because she's a terf".

Cue: Cis person making it about themselves.

"Oh so you say I'm transphobic?" "Harry Potter meant a lot to many people when they were younger, do you just want to take that away from them?" "Stop calling me a TERF, I'm not." "You're really overreacting here."

Mind you, I never once said that the people who like Harry Potter hate trans people. I just said I don't like JKR because she's a TERF.

She went on to defend the life out of it like "It's not gonna change that much if I support it anyway" "It means so much to me, I don't wanna just stop consuming it" "Just separate the art from the artist" "Well, I can't control my hyperfixations" all that stuff that you constantly hear from people trying to justify themselves.

There was no "I acknowledge that JKR is bad and while I still want to enjoy the series, I try to do so in a way that doesn't support her" or anything. In the end, I was the one apologizing to my friend because I dared to "imply she's a bad person".

And it's not even just her who acted that way - every time I see someone criticize JKR, the comments are flooded with these people getting defensive and angry at the person speaking up about it.

It's incredibly tiring when I as a non binary person have to constantly apologize for making cis people uncomfortable just because I try to speak up against a TERF - not against them, just against JKR.

-------

I'd like to also take two points that are constantly being raised because they're starting to get tiring.

"Separate the art from the artist", "death of the author" and "Hatsune Miku wrote Harry Potter":

It isn't that damn easy. Death of the author doesn't work because JKR is still alive and well, and probably will be for at least another 15 or so years. That woman is only 56 years old. She's gonna be around for a while. And for that time, she will continue to profit off every cent you spend on official HP merch, on her books, her movies and games. You keep giving her a platform that she can continue to use for her blatant transphobia.

Additionally to that, you don't need me to tell you that her transphobia isn't the only issue with her and her works, because lots of people from those groups have ready explained the racism and antisemitism in a far better way than I ever could. You can't entirely filter out her harmful views. You can't separate art from artist because that means you'll stop critically consuming her works because "well Hatsune Miku wrote those books so it's nothing bad." No. If you HAVE to consume her stuff you better acknowledge that it's not all sunshine and rainbows and be honest with yourself.

"It's my hyperfixation, I can't control that":

I want to make it clear first that I'm ND myself. I know how hyperfixations work. I know it's not the same for everyone.

That being said, stop using you being ND as an excuse. It's not.

Because unless your hyperfixation is "Giving money to transphobic people", the same applies to you - You don't have to actively give her money. You're allowed to have your hyperfixations, but being ND doesn't mean you can't consume content in a responsible way.

Black women are just on another level

“May I?” “You may.”

Sorority and Feminism

Sorority, sisterhood and girl gang support are elements of feminism.

It is often said becoming a feminist is joining a sorority. Which is kinda true - but what is a sorority?

Sororities are values based social organizations that are founded to provide women a safe space to gather and share, this groups are often-times women exclusive and provide intellectual and social connections amongst women to form strong bonds, gain meaningful lifelong friendships, develop leadership and professional skills and be a part of something bigger than themselves.

So yes, feminism could be described as a type of sorority, if you will.

The problem is when radical new feminists think being part of the feminist movement and embracing sisterhood and the whole "dont tear each other down" is the same as "do not ever question anything a fellow female does or says".

It's important to call out ignorant, problematic, bad, bigot and poor in taste behaviour - it doesnt matter who it comes from. A woman, a man, or a nonbinary pal.

Being part of a sorority,specially in feminism, also means helping each other grow too, and more often than not that means calling out people. So please do, but be respectful and assertive, not hostile and aggressive.

Also, if you're a feminist, dont be afraid to be wrong. We're all unlearning a belief system. We all have internalized misogyny because we all grew up in a patriarchal society and feminism is about growing and healing, and none of those are a linear process. You are allowed to be wrong, and mess up, but fellow feminists may and will call you out on it (as long as they do so with respect and tolerance), take it as an opportunity for growth for you - it's okay to acknowledge your mistakes. It's a very healthy thing to do.

Girls support girls and empowered women empower women does not mean turning a blind eye to women in the wrong - or supporting women blindly. This things do not cancel critical thinking. This means to stop actively participating in the patriarchy's way of diminishing women and piting them against each other. Like, who wore it better or when it was heavily implied by every male critic that if wonder woman failed (was bad) it was proof of how women aren't meant to be superheroes in big franchises even though there have been male centered superhero franchises that have flopped and they get the chance to keep trying. It means to stop calling each other sluts, and bitches and stop falling for the patriarchy's trap of "not being like other girls", to stop judging your fellow sisters for doing or saying things you wouldn't judge a man for, to acknowledge that women should have agency over their lives and bodies to make their own decisions, even if those decisions are not ones you would not make yourself. It means to support other women in life and have each other backs in our fight against an oppressive system.

Feminism fights to destroy and change all the perceptions about women (and men) that are harmful - including that women dont rape, are abusers, or kill (they are rarely the perpetrators, but it happens). Seeing feminists defend Amber Heard or JK Rowling because "shes a woman and feminism is for women" are one of the worst portrayal of feminism today.

Feminism does not mean supporting every single woman just because they're a woman. Don't be toxic on your feminism.

If you stop wearing makeup, stop getting manicures, stop plucking your eyebrows and dyeing and heat treating your hair and fastidiously putting on night repair serums and pinching your feet into pointy heels and sucking yourself in with spanx and wearing impractical lingerie and bleaching the tiny hairs above your lip, the world won’t stop.  You’ll be the same strong, compelling, lovely woman you always have been. Just as radiant, just as worthy of love and desire and respect. Other people may treat you differently, but that doesn’t alter your value as a woman. Your value transcends your conformity to femininity.

Pride and Prejudice (2005) is a timeless classic because the line “i’m 27 years old, i’ve no money and no prospects. i’m already a burden to my parents and i’m frightened” is as relevant today as when she published pride and prejudice in 1813 😭

Heroes of our times: this woman who stopped shaving, plucking, moisturizing, fixing her hair and applying make-up because her douche boyfriend kept complaining she spent too much time in the bathroom and YOU WON’T BELIEVE WHAT HAPPENED NEXT.

[Spoiler: he learned women don’t actually ‘look like that’ and tried to force her to ‘take care of herself’ again, while she realized she was wasting so. much. time. and is now living her best hairy, unplucked, unmoisturized, unblow-dried and unlipsticked life. Truly a blessèd day.]

Never let them forget this. No matter what happens in the next few years, no matter how many dems we vote into office, no matter how much better things seem to get, never let them forget how they simply let Trump supporters white terrorists storm the capitol. Never let them forget how they killed and gassed and arrested black people peacefully fighting for their basic right to live but held their hands up when the alt right attempted a coup just a few months later. Never.