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Uproar after Korean professor criticises Goo Hara and trivialises the pain caused by secret sex videos
- Joo Chul-hwan implied that secretly filmed sex videos were not damaging and that Goo Hara should have been stronger
- Goo, who was found dead last month, was the victim of malicious online comments and a sex tape blackmail threat
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Why you can trust SCMP
By Bahk Eun-ji
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A former television director turned university professor has come under fire for criticising deceased K-pop star Goo Hara and implying the suffering caused by secretly recorded sex videos is trivial.
During a November 27 lecture recorded by students, Ajou University professor Joo Chul-hwan described Goo as mentally vulnerable while talking about the need for students to be strong when facing criticism. The former member of K-pop group Kara, who had suffered from depression due to malicious online comments, was found dead in her home in Seoul on November 24.
“When you don’t have a strong mentality, you’ll become Goo Hara,” Joo said in the recording. “People swear [at you] because they feel inferior [to you]. Why kill yourself because of such people? You have to have a strong mind.”
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He then mentioned the singer’s ex-boyfriend, Choi Jong-bum, who was the target of a lawsuit filed by Goo in 2018 for allegedly threatening to release a video clip of the couple having sex.
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