K-Pop star suspended after being accused of childhood bullying

Hyunjin from K-Pop group Stray Kids

Credit: Mary Clavering/Young Hollywood/Getty Images North America 

A K-pop star has joined a growing list of South Korean celebrities facing a backlash after accusations of bullying fellow pupils at secondary school.

Hyunjin, 20, of boy band Stray Kids, issued an apology, and his management said he will suspend all activities after allegations by an unnamed former schoolmate that he was verbally abusive when they were teenagers.

JYP Entertainment, his management agency, said in a statement that: "Hyunjin will take the time to self-reflect after halting all of his activities as a celebrity. He sincerely regrets and is self-reflecting on the fact that he hurt various people in middle school with his rough and unsuitable words.”

The statement followed an investigation into the accuser’s accusations and a lengthy hand-written apology on Instagram where Hyunjin said that he was sorry about “those who were hurt by my improper actions during my school years”.

K-Pop group Stray Kids at the Young Hollywood Studio Feb, 2019

Credit: Mary Clavering/Young Hollywood/Getty Images North America 

The last few days have seen a spate of similar allegations against pop star celebrities although most have denied the claims.

Sports stars have also been forced to face up to embarrassing accusations of past bad behaviour, which led last month to twin sister volleyball superstars being removed from the Korean national team.

Online and school bullying have long been a problem in South Korean secondary schools where students are under enormous pressure to succeed in tough university entrance exams.

Suicide is the most common cause of death among young Koreans between the age of 15 to 24, a phenomenon which researchers believe is connected to the fiercely competitive academic environment and bullying behaviours at school.

In recent years, the problem has become so bad that parents have resorted to hiring muscular, tattooed men to pose as fake “uncles” to protect their children from schoolyard bullies.

South Korean parents hire thugs to stop school bullies

Noh Yoon-ho, a Seoul-based lawyer who specialises in school violence cases, told The Telegraph there had been an uptick in legal action over bullying since she began practicing in that field in 2012.

“The problem here is that adults have the tendency to ignore it, they just think of it as kids fighting, and the bigger problems come after that… kids commit suicide,” she said.

High-profile suicides among K-pop stars have also led to pledges from legislators to introduce new laws to make cyberbullying education compulsory in schools and private businesses.