People Are Showing Their Support For 2NE1’s Park Bom After She Spoke Openly About Having A Mental Disorder For The First Time
“Let your voice be heard again.”
Yesterday, PD Note, a controversial South Korean investigative journalism show on TV channel MBC, aired an episode about a drug smuggling scandal that Park was involved in four years ago.
In the episode of PD Note, a lawyer said it was “unusual” for an amphetamine charge not to be pursued.
In 2014, news broke that Park had allegedly tried in 2010 to smuggle 82 capsules of amphetamines from the US, where she had previously lived, into South Korea by mail.
https://www.instagram.com/p/luZa4Tq3eo/
The parcel was stopped at customs at Seoul Incheon International Airport as “amphetamine-based medication and other controlled substances are routinely confiscated at the Korean port of entry, unless accompanied by a bring-in permit,” according to the US Department of State.
Bom’s management company, YG Entertainment, issued a statement at the time saying that the medication had been prescribed to her by an American university hospital to treat a psychological condition caused by childhood trauma.
YG Entertainment said the case was dismissed after Bom turned in her medical records and prescriptions.
Park then went on hiatus and left the reality programme Roommate.
After the episode of PD Note aired, Park’s name (박봄) began trending across Korean search engines.
Today, in an interview with Sports Kyunghyang, Park has spoken about the drug smuggling scandal for the first time, saying that the medication she was taking was Adderall for her ADD.
“I didn’t want to disclose that I had ADD, but there was no other way,” she said. “People thought I was a drug smuggler because I was carrying Adderall. In America, it’s a type of medication to deal with my illness.”
“I’ve truly never done drugs,” Park said. “I have a personal illness.”
“ADD is not something that is discussed in Korea,” she added.
Park also addressed the backlash she faced from people when she tried to start singing again following the drug scandal.
Fans have been showing their support for Park speaking out about mental health as the topic is stigmatised in South Korea.
They started sharing the hashtag “Leave Park Bom alone” to show their solidarity.
https://twitter.com/2ne_sone/status/989495509269274624
https://twitter.com/bomfansite/status/989464824768675840
via Buzzfeed
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