Stray Kids is getting a lot of attention these days thanks to Hyunjin. The pretty guy with long hair, whether it’s blonde or black, looks stunning just like an elf from the Lord of the Rings movie. He became the representative of Stray Kids on the survival show Kingdom. A lot of people are anticipating Hyunjin’s performance. The hype over Hyunjin’s gorgeousness is over after a scandal hit him. Hyunjin is accused of being a bully when he was in middle school. While in high school, Hyunjin was known as SOPA Prince. What happened with Hyunjin during his middle school era? Turns out, this is not the first time he was accused. Then, is it true that he is a bully? Check out the details below!
Stray Kids’ Hyunjin’s Past Bullying Issue
Before being accused as a bully, another rumor about Hyunjin’s bullying had spread. It was in 2018 when Stray Kids just debuted. There was a post on an online community in South Korea by someone claiming to have been Hyunjin’s schoolmate in middle school. There were also some screenshots of conversations by the victims. Hyunjin was accused of mocking his friends, being rude to a girl and being ready to fight her, and even smoking in middle school. Based on the poster, Hyunjin’s friends were worse. He was hanging out with friends who liked to mock or curse other students even during lunch when other students didn’t do anything wrong. There was also a rumor which said that Hyunjin answered an ask.fm question with a sexual joke. The question on his ask.fm account was anonymous, but he answered it rudely. You may be wondering why all of the rumors started when he just debuted. That’s because Hyunjin and the other Stray Kids members joined a survival show called Stray Kids which aired on Mnet. Even though Stray Kids made their official debut in 2018, they were known publicly since 2017. Hyunjin was one of the most popular trainees during Stray Kids. He had a handsome face, and he also behaved really well. He seemed quiet and sweet. Hyunjin had a fan-club even when he was a trainee. There were people gathered in front of JYP Entertainment’s building to see him. Hyunjin started his trainee life after he graduated from middle school. He was cast on the street by a JYP Entertainment staff member. He passed the audition and became a trainee when he was in high school. He attended Seoul of Performing Arts, the school of many popular K-pop idols and trainees. In high school, Hyunjin was known as SOPA Prince. He looked so cool in his uniform. People were shocked by the fact that Hyunjin was a bully in middle school if the rumors are true. He had a prince-charming aura and looked calm during his pre-debut era. No one saw it coming. The rumors spread a few days after Hyunjin made his debut. JYP Entertainment didn’t release a statement regarding Hyunjin’s bullying issue. There wasn’t any strong evidence, so maybe it wasn’t a really big thing back then. However, Stray Kids held a fan meeting in April 2018 and sang the song “Grow Up.” It is a song about a teenager who had a rough time. The song encourages kids out there who are about to grow up to run and face the moment together. It was such a heart-warming song. No wonder Hyunjin got emotional and cried while singing his part. It was a few days after the bullying rumor started spreading. It could be because of that rumor that Hyunjin teared up. The members who noticed quickly patted him while he held back his tears. What do you think about Hyunjin’s previous bullying rumor? It was the first time he was linked to a bullying rumor. Let’s see the second time Hyunjin was accused of being a bully in 2021 in the section below!
Stray Kids’ Hyunjin Accused of Another Bullying Issue
The first bullying rumor accused him in 2018. Hyunjin was still in high school at the time, and he and the other Stray Kids members were rookies, too. However, as time went by, Stray Kids increased in popularity, especially among international fans. Stray Kids held a world tour and fan-meetings around the world. Hyunjin, along with other Stray Kids members, also had some additional projects which increased their popularity. It seems like everyone has forgotten about his past bullying issue. Some people may not care about it anymore. People are more interested in who Hyunji is right now, and he is also too charming to resist. However, in February 2021, rumors were accusing various celebrities of being bullies in their past. Some names linked to the bullying rumors are actress Park Hye-soo, actor Jisoo, G(I)-dle’s Soojin, girl group April, SEVENTEEN’s Mingyu, etc. Because of the rumors, there were a lot of celebrities removed from their projects. So, what was Hyunjin accused of this time? It wasn’t different from the rumor that spread in 2018. The post was posted in an online community by a schoolmate of Hyunjin from middle school. They claimed to be a victim of Hyunjin’s school violence in the past. They said that because of Hyunjin, they had nightmares during their middle school life. Hyunjin and his middle school friends liked to mock the poster. Hyunjin made the poster’s name to be some kind of a joke. “Are you (the poster’s name)? Why do you act like him?” as if being the poster is a joke itself. This made the poster depressed and they lost their confidence, too. However, the poster didn’t have enough proof about this. They didn’t gather any evidence because they figured why collect things that made them remember the pain? They also didn’t know that Hyunjin would be an idol. If they knew, they would have at least gathered some proof. However, they asked some friends to be witnesses regarding Hyunjin’s verbal violence in middle school. The friends agreed that the poster was given a hard time during middle school. Hyunjin and his friends were the cause. So, with this new bullying issue, do you think that Hyunjin was really a bully? You can share your opinion in the comment section!
Stray Kids Announces Hyunjin’s Indefinite Hiatus
Regarding the issue, JYP Entertainment released a statement due to Hyunjin’s bullying rumor. They were quiet the last time Hyunjin was accused of bullying. Now that Hyunjin is more known to the public, they can’t help but dig into the issue and show people the truth of Hyunjin’s middle school era. Was he really bullying his friends or not? Hyunjin wrote a hand-written letter that showed his regret and apology towards the victims. He declared that his actions in the past cannot be forgiven, especially when they hurt people and caused trauma. He realizes that his apology won’t cure the pain, and he regrets what he did in the past. Here is the hand-written letter from Hyunjin which he posted on Stray Kids’ Instagram account. JYP Entertainment released a statement Regarding Hyunjin’s works schedule. During this issue, since it wasn’t clear whether Hyunjin really did those actions or not, JYP Entertainment canceled all of Hyunjin’s activities, including his activities with Stray Kids. At this moment, JYP Entertainment is still trying to find information regarding the issue. They also informed the public that Hyunjin regrets what he did in the past. Because of his malicious words to his schoolmates, he created bad memories for them. That’s why he is taking time to reflect on his mistakes and halt his activities. Fans were angry and disappointed at JYP Entertainment’s decision to take down Hyunjin’s activities. He was at the top of his career before the issue started spreading. He also had a lot of individual activities outside of Stray Kids. Even with Stray Kids, Hyunjin became a brand ambassador of CLIO, a makeup brand from Korea. That shows how popular Hyunjin is. Even non-fans like him and adore his pretty and fairy-like face. After this issue, what do you think Hyunjin’s career will be like? Will he be able to return to the way it was before? You can share your thoughts in the comment section!
