KwakTube faces backlash for defending controversial former idol
Popular travel YouTuber KwakTube, who has previously shared his own experiences with school bullying, is now facing criticism for a video in which he defends Lee Na-eun, a former member of the disbanded K-pop girl group April, which has been accused of bullying a new member.
KwakTube, whose real name is Kwak Joon-bin, is a travel content creator whose YouTube channel boasts more than 2.1 million subscribers.
He has spoken on TV shows and his YouTube channel about his experiences as a victim of school violence, which ultimately led him to drop out of high school.
Even those who are not familiar with him have supported Kwak for his candidness about his past and his distinctive travel content, which explores places not easily accessible to the public.
However, his fans are now criticizing him, questioning how Kwak could show support for someone implicated in bullying accusations.
In 2021, Lee Na-eun, along with other members of April, faced allegations of bullying former member Lee Hyun-joo, which led Lee Na-eun to halt her activities. April disbanded the following year.
Kwak posted a video on his YouTube channel on Monday showing him traveling to Italy with the former April member.
In the video, the travel YouTuber addressed the controversy, saying, "Whenever the topic of school violence comes up, I would get very sensitive." He told Lee, "I immediately blocked you (on social media after hearing about the allegations). But then I saw an article saying they weren't true."
He added, "As a victim myself, I've spoken a lot about these issues, but I realized that I might have been hurting someone who was misunderstood."
Lee said, "I thought I wouldn't be upset anymore since time had passed. But realizing that there were so many people who misunderstood me and blocked me because they believed the rumors - It really hurt me and I was very sad."
Lee has not yet fully addressed the bullying allegations. Following the scandal, she took a hiatus of about two years and recently returned to the public eye as an actor.
As the backlash grew, Kwak deleted the video from his YouTube channel just hours after posting it and issued an apology.
"There were things I did not fully consider. I will reflect deeply to ensure my personal feelings don't overshadow the perspectives of others," Kwak said.
However, despite deleting the video and apologizing, the debate surrounding him continues to escalate.
On Tuesday, a day after he apologized and removed the video, the Ministry of Education took down its school violence prevention campaign video featuring Kwak on its official YouTube channel, which it released on Friday.
The Busan Metropolitan Government is facing demands from the public to exclude Kwak from its upcoming event. The city is scheduled to host the 2024 International Travel Fair in Busan from Sept. 27 to 29, with Kwak scheduled to hold a travel talk concert on Sept. 28.
"It seems inappropriate for KwakTube, who recently caused controversy with remarks in his Italy travel video, to proceed with the travel talk concert as planned," one internet user wrote on the city government's official webpage.
In 2021, Lee Hyun-joo revealed on her Instagram that she had been consistently bullied by April members, saying, "For three years, I suffered from ongoing physical and verbal abuse, harassment, insults and personal attacks. The most painful part was the baseless insults toward my beloved grandmother, mother, father and brother."
She said then that her agency, DSP Media, had been aware of the bullying but took no action to stop it.
source: The Korea Times
KwakTube, whose real name is Kwak Joon-bin, is a travel content creator whose YouTube channel boasts more than 2.1 million subscribers.
He has spoken on TV shows and his YouTube channel about his experiences as a victim of school violence, which ultimately led him to drop out of high school.
Even those who are not familiar with him have supported Kwak for his candidness about his past and his distinctive travel content, which explores places not easily accessible to the public.
However, his fans are now criticizing him, questioning how Kwak could show support for someone implicated in bullying accusations.
In 2021, Lee Na-eun, along with other members of April, faced allegations of bullying former member Lee Hyun-joo, which led Lee Na-eun to halt her activities. April disbanded the following year.
Kwak posted a video on his YouTube channel on Monday showing him traveling to Italy with the former April member.
In the video, the travel YouTuber addressed the controversy, saying, "Whenever the topic of school violence comes up, I would get very sensitive." He told Lee, "I immediately blocked you (on social media after hearing about the allegations). But then I saw an article saying they weren't true."
He added, "As a victim myself, I've spoken a lot about these issues, but I realized that I might have been hurting someone who was misunderstood."
Lee said, "I thought I wouldn't be upset anymore since time had passed. But realizing that there were so many people who misunderstood me and blocked me because they believed the rumors - It really hurt me and I was very sad."
Lee has not yet fully addressed the bullying allegations. Following the scandal, she took a hiatus of about two years and recently returned to the public eye as an actor.
As the backlash grew, Kwak deleted the video from his YouTube channel just hours after posting it and issued an apology.
"There were things I did not fully consider. I will reflect deeply to ensure my personal feelings don't overshadow the perspectives of others," Kwak said.
However, despite deleting the video and apologizing, the debate surrounding him continues to escalate.
On Tuesday, a day after he apologized and removed the video, the Ministry of Education took down its school violence prevention campaign video featuring Kwak on its official YouTube channel, which it released on Friday.
The Busan Metropolitan Government is facing demands from the public to exclude Kwak from its upcoming event. The city is scheduled to host the 2024 International Travel Fair in Busan from Sept. 27 to 29, with Kwak scheduled to hold a travel talk concert on Sept. 28.
"It seems inappropriate for KwakTube, who recently caused controversy with remarks in his Italy travel video, to proceed with the travel talk concert as planned," one internet user wrote on the city government's official webpage.
In 2021, Lee Hyun-joo revealed on her Instagram that she had been consistently bullied by April members, saying, "For three years, I suffered from ongoing physical and verbal abuse, harassment, insults and personal attacks. The most painful part was the baseless insults toward my beloved grandmother, mother, father and brother."
She said then that her agency, DSP Media, had been aware of the bullying but took no action to stop it.
source: The Korea Times