Park Bom Clarifies Past Drug Incident In New Interview

[Mees Madds]

On April 24, MBC’s investigative journalism program “PD Notebook†brought up the past incident of Park Bom bringing amphetamines into Korea.

 

The following day, Park Bom topped real-time search rankings on Naver as people were looking up details about the incident.

 

Park Bom met news outlet Sports Kyunghyang on April 26 at 2 p.m. KST for an exclusive interview to speak up about the past situation.

 

She began, “An acquaintance contacted me, so I watched ‘PD Notebook’ with my parents. They seem to be immune to the word ‘drugs’ now as they only sighed. It’s so difficult seeing my parents like that. When the drug reports were first released, they asked, ‘Did you really do it?’ but now they just sigh.â€

 

She continued, “If I had done drugs even once, I would not feel that it is unfair hearing such things. I really have never done drugs. I did get investigated but I was not charged.â€

 

Park Bom then explained, “I have a personal illness. I have had to take medication since my middle school and high school days. It is ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder), which is an illness not well-known in Korea. Edison, the king of invention, also had this illness. The name of the disorder has recently become known, but there is no correct medication for it, so I take medication for ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). As it is not the right medication for it, it is difficult to endure the disorder.â€

 

“I became known as a drug smuggler when I brought in Adderall. In the United States, it is a common medication used for the treatment of illnesses like the one I have. It is something that happened partially due to my ignorance during the process of bringing it in, but it’s frustrating that people say that this medication is 100 percent amphetamines. Calling it drugs, but isn’t it something I can’t not take to treat my illness?â€

 

Park Bom also responded to rumors about her being 40 years old (in Korean reckoning). She commented, “Ask my friends. Born in 1984, I am 34 years old (in Western reckoning). Does it make sense that I’m older than my older sister?â€

 

“It has been five years since I let go of singing. Because I got so much hate, I didn’t even want to be a singer. However, after the ‘PD Notebook’ broadcast, I felt that I have to be a singer. I can’t give up what I want to do the most and what I am the best at because I am intimidated by misunderstandings. I am thankful to YG which has raised me, and I also want to express my gratitude to producer Yang Hyun Suk. Other people ask if I feel hatred towards them, but that is not true at all. Also, I want to be successful in my return as a singer so I can buy a big building for my parents who have struggled a lot because of me.â€

 

Park Bom appeared at the interview wearing a plum colored dress with a jean jacket. She shared, “I bought these clothes five years ago. I haven’t even really purchased clothes properly for five years. Even when walking on the streets, I was concerned that people would say something to me. I don’t have a car, so I have to go around running into people like that. I cannot drink very well, but there are times that I drink. My heart hurts, but I am forcing myself to endure it. If people would understand my situation, not even a lot, but just a little bit, I think I could sing again. Could you please just watch over me?â€

 

After the “PD Notebook†broadcast, she wrote a long message to share with fans on social media but ended up not posting it and shared the post with the reporter. The note includes the explanations above about ADD, and she also says to her fans, “My heart really hurt because I couldn’t tell you anything… You don’t know how thankful I am and how much it hurts me because my fans and our 2NE1 fans patiently wait for us even though we are working individually.†She concludes, “I apologize for not gaining courage to write earlier because I was just taking time to be heartbroken, and I also apologize for causing trouble for many people.â€

 

Source (1)

 

Soompi article:https://www.soompi.com/2018/04/26/park-bom-clarifies-past-drug-incident-new-interview/

 

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[Guest]

She's really brave to do this. I'm glad she's clarifying it...again

[Yen]

“I bought these clothes five years ago. I haven’t even really purchased clothes properly for five years. Even when walking on the streets, I was concerned that people would say something to me. I don’t have a car, so I have to go around running into people like that. I cannot drink very well, but there are times that I drink. My heart hurts, but I am forcing myself to endure it. If people would understand my situation, not even a lot, but just a little bit, I think I could sing again. Could you please just watch over me?â€

 

My heart just broke 

[FactMan]

How much we can ruin people's lives by being aggressive ignorant douchebags. She doesn't deserve this bullshit.

 

I hope she breaks out of that emotional prison vile creatures forced her into with their bullshit.

[shaym]

How I wish the hate would stop. She really doesn't deserve this.

[Joon]

They are legally prescribed drugs that she took for legit reasons. She didn’t bring them into Korea the correct way, but that hardly makes her a “drug dealer†like she is being accused. She really doesn’t deserve all she has been through and any punishment for not transporting the prescriptions in a legal manner has been filled out tenfold. She lost her damn career and is constantly harassed over this...isn’t that enough?

[Ogisoo]

BOMMIE!!! Im crying 

[ariel28]

i feel bad for her. stay strong Park Bom.

[amanda22]

Gosh im tearing reading this 😢😢

[Claudia]

I am so glad that she finally found the courage to face the cameras and explain.  I can't imagine how hard it was for her. 

 

I hope she will get back to making music again. 

[nicophos]

these people... this is so bad. 
their ignorance is causing others pain and suffering. HOW RIGHT IS THAT!? 

[namidaone]

And for those ppl who keep saying Bom should leave Korea and go to US because they're so "concerned" about her bc of the PD Notebook broadcast and the hate from knetz, well the kween has said it loud and clear: 

 

“It has been five years since I let go of singing. Because I got so much hate, I didn’t even want to be a singer. However, after the ‘PD Notebook’ broadcast, I felt that I have to be a singer. I can’t give up what I want to do the most and what I am the best at because I am intimidated by misunderstandings. I am thankful to YG which has raised me, and I also want to express my gratitude to producer Yang Hyun Suk. Other people ask if I feel hatred towards them, but that is not true at all. Also, I want to be successful in my return as a singer so I can buy a big building for my parents who have struggled a lot because of me.â€

 

[WINE]

My heart breaks for her. I’m sorry that this happened to you

[dontknow]

this still makes you wonder, why does korea enforce the notion that mental health is a weakness and not a genuine disease. taking medications should not be seen as a sign of weakness.

[UMJI MOODS]

I'm so sad about this. I doubt Koreans will ever let it go. The situation is so different from using hard drugs in that it is involving psychological difficulties. Korea just does not seem able to face mental problems as the high suicide rate shows. I think if people showed her a bit more love she would have a better outlook. In the end a fair amount of the blame lies at the feet of YG. If he had been forthright from the beginning and explained the issue instead of trying to sweep it under the rug, most of this wouldn't have occurred.

[Aegyo]

this broke my heart....

[2One]

Ahh I teared up reading it, how could people invest so much time hating on innocent people and ruin their lives? But they'll support people who've done worse and awful things... Really annoying!!!

I hope you'll comeback with new music and will do great, you have many fans waiting for you Bom TT

[Twicebabies]

I feel bad for her, female idols just get so much sh*t and one misunderstanding leaves their career to the ground. If they were to open the investigation and the results would show she wasn't guilty, im pretty sure some people wouldn't be satisfied. They just condemned her without even trying to understand, my heart broke for her seems like such a tough life to live in. I would migrate if I was her tbh, knetz are toxic

[denizen mars]

Damn so it really was for ADHD, so an on-label use of the meds (in the US). I thought it was prescribed for her depression which I thought was weird, but I still always thought the reaction to this scandal was ridiculous. But of course ADHD is barely on the radar of Koreans (I've heard that in the recent past, students that most likely have ADHD in Korea are just seen as 'problem kids' to be dealt with in classrooms, rather than being tested and connected with resources, and I doubt things have changed much). This really sucks. Medication helps a lot of people with ADHD. Maybe at least some people will understand now. 

[rananicolee]

My heart broke for her.

[seulmate]

she is so strong

[WonderJoyous]

UGH this makes me so sad, my heart is absolutely broken reading this.

 

Please stay strong Bom, and we, your fans are looking forward to your music.

 

She wants to continue singing so much, but she couldn't because of this, and she was so brave and strong to come out on camera to clarify herself, she doesn't deserve any of the hate she gets, I love this woman so much, she was my first ultimate bias and although my ult is Joy now, I never stopped loving Bom and I just want to see her happy, doing what she loves.

[SheSayYes]

I hope she is ok and find strength, my heart really hurts for her.

[Hello Bubble]

This really sucks, damn. She was stupid for doing hat she did, but what ca she do now, she doesn't deserve half of the hate she gets.

I just hope the police OPEN the case, take all of her proof and hopefully she will be acquitted from all charges, that's the only way she can get some sort of closure

[Angel_Nessa]

I imagined she must have been going through hard times. I believed she would go back to the USA after 2ne1 disbandment.

Did she change the reasons for taking the medicine? When the scandal broke, I thought she took amphetamine to not gain weight.

 

edit: 

 

I think some people are misunderstanding what I've written. Let me make it clearer. 

 

"I thought, at the very 1st moment I read the scandal news, that she might be taken amphetamine to lose weight, cause it's a popular use of the drug (at least in my country it is, I don't know if there are restrictions in other countries),  but later I read YG's official statement saying that she took the amphetamine pills due to depression"