Hwayoung’s Nipple: Wardrobe Malfunction or Publicity Stunt?

T-ara on Inkigayo.

Inkigayo aka The Music Trend, one of Korea’s three main music shows, was at the center of much criticism recently, after broadcasting an apparent ‘wardrobe malfunction’ on live television. During a performance by popular Korean girl group T-ara, one of the group member’s (Hwayoung) see-through top revealed a left nipple.

This instantly caused a storm over Korean cyberspace, becoming one of the most read and discussed stories on all three Korean portal websites (Daum, Nate, and Naver). The broadcast, which was shown on national television, was said to be a pre-recording, thus prompting further responses of outrage. The video and screenshots of the Hwayoung’s nipple incident have gone viral.

Hwa-yong reveals a nipple in a "wardrobe malfunction" during a performance on Korea's Inkigayo.

Comments from Nate:

김지혜:

Oh my… I feel really sorry for her… Honestly, T-ara can’t even take a break from their everyday dance practice because of President Gwang-su [head of their record label]… I too am a woman, and when I watch it, I feel pity for her

박채현:

She just turned 20… I wanna delete this article but I don’t have the power to ㅜㅡㅜ

강혜린:

Don’t write about this… She is too young for this. Sigh ㅠㅠ

김태린:

Rather than focus on the fact that her top is loose, why did she come out on stage without wearing a bra?

Comments from Daum:

green0506:

Wow! This article really shows how dirty Gwang-su’s company is by using mass media for their own benefit. And even though her nipple can be seen though her see-through top when she raises her arm, how can she come on stage to such an [active] shuffle dance without wearing a bra? As you all know, in the past this company used these dirty tricks in other similar incidents like with SeeYa [another Korean girl group], who received a large sympathy vote from the public. Ever since the Gang-ho [a member of Coed School, another band from the label, who was said to have sexually harassed someone] scandal [play on words with Gang-ho’s name, by calling him Gang-ho Soon, which sounds like Kang Ho-soon, a sex-manic mass murderer], up until this breast exposure scandal, this company always uses the media for its own benefit to make unpopular artists famous. Both the company and the unpopular Hwayoung make a big issue through this fabricated crap. Is it really good to use the mass-media in such a dirty way to make unpopular artists famous?

다중인격:

Why is she not wearing a bra?? Also, with that much of her breast popping out, she should have been able to feel it… a little odd…

Clear_:

In my opinion, with such crap of using the mass media through stunts such this one, where Hwayoung is used to promote Hyoyoung [Hwayoung’s twin sister, who is part of Coed School], and preparing for Coed School’s eventual comeback, Gwang-su is a true king. ㄷㄷ

브렛하트13:

The size [of the picture/broadcast] was too small – if you didn’t have HDTV, then you could barely see anything.

뻐큐머겅:

Their aim was clearly intentional…

꼼짝마발들어:

Like with a game of Go-Stop, her agency and the media are colluding to create noise marketing… to deliberately make her famous?

하늘아래:

They say it was exposed – I watched the broadcast, and all I saw was a dot

smchae:

Wasn’t it on purpose to make her famous…?

What do you think? Simple wardrobe malfunction or calculated publicity stunt?

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