Foxy Weekly #8

I initially wrote this on my blog and decided to share this on here for obvious reasons.

I was messing around on Twitter months ago and came across a tweet by Allkpop talking about former Girls Generation member Jessica Jung’s book series. I paid it no heed and just went about my day.

Weeks later, the book was released, and although it became a New York Times bestseller, it also became the subject of much controversy. Why, you might ask? A little history lesson is required here.

On September 30, 2014, Girls Generation, aka one of the most legendary and most successful girl groups in k-pop and modern-day pop history, caused quite an uproar when Jessica revealed via Weibo that the other eight members had kicked her out of the group.

That scandal drew a lot of flack to the other members who have yet to speak up on the matter as their label, SM entertainment told them not to say a word about the actual circumstances behind Jessica’s departure.

The whole drama revolved around Jessica’s solo plans and the launch of her fashion label Blanc and Enclaire that year. According to Jessica, the other members took issue with the fashion brand and asked for her removal. There were other stories from insiders that claimed that Jessica would not show up for dance rehearsals for Girls Generation’s then-upcoming tour, something Jessica vehemently denied.?

Years later, the plot thickens, and old wounds begin to re-open via the can of worms that Jessica unleashed upon the world via the book series. The books tell the story of a young girl named Rachel Kim who moves from America to South Korea in the hopes of becoming a k-pop idol and ends up in a widely popular girl group named Girls Forever. Sounds familiar, right? Oh and get this, Rachel also establishes a fashion label, and the other members get jealous about it and her success and kick her out, just like Jessica.

It is not a coincidence considering that Jessica stealthily wrote this as a memoir but disguised it as fiction. Why do I say that? Jessica, in an interview, said that it was all fiction even though some aspects of it were loosely based on her time with Girls Generation, only for her to contradict herself in a separate interview by claiming that she put some little easter eggs for fans to go hunt.

If that does not send chills down your spine, I don’t know what else does. I have not read the full book. However, I came across a couple of excerpts online thanks to fans who screenshotted parts of the book, and I was beyond disgusted.

For starters, she knows the other eight are in a vulnerable position that prevents them from speaking their truth and is weaponizing it against them. By mentioning easter eggs, she has deliberately set up a witch hunt against them.

And don’t get me started on the ridiculous allegations that she threw in there. For context, she accused one member of drugging her and another of sleeping her away to the top. She also claimed one of the members is a lesbian, which is a big no-no, considering how conservative South Korea is in regards to LGBT rights. As if that is not enough, she accused them of being bullies.

There is also the fact that Rachel benefitted from a lot of favoritism in the first book in the series during her trainee years which could be a way of Jessica shedding some light on her trainee years. Yet, Rachel displays a Woe is Me attitude over time anytime the other girls get opportunities she believes are rightfully hers, which may be Jessica’s indirect way of exposing her true nature.

I get that she is still hurt by what happened but what she has done is so petty and damaging. If any of the girls did what she accused them of doing, why did she not expose them a long time ago? Why is it now and in this manner? Pretty shady if you ask me. Her claims of the novel series being a unique blend of reality and fiction in various contradicting interviews certainly do not help her case. Let us not get started with her varying contradicting tales in many interviews. What is going on here, Miss Jung?

The Rachel Kim avatar is a terrible example of the Mary Sue trope. In case you are wondering what that is, a Mary Sue is a fictional character that is way too perfect that everyone else is made to look worse or often bends forward to make the said character look better.?

From the little I have seen, Rachel Kim, or rather Jessica here, paints herself to be this perfect being while every other girl is a devil. I was once guilty of what Jessica did via the horrendous web novel I published last year named Goddess Awakening.

In that book, I did the same shit that she did. I straight up demonized my family, my mother in particular, and made myself and my then-boyfriend look like untouchable perfect saints who could do no wrong when in reality, we were both messed up kids.

Good thing that book did not sell or make a dent. People saw right through my poor writing the same way I and other Kpop fans saw right through Jessica.

As I am talking to you right now, many Sones, Maomaos, and other Kpop fandoms have been calling Jessica out on this, and rightfully so. Now Jessica is going to debut in a new Chinese girl group. Time will tell if this media ploy will blow up in her face.

So what is the moral of the story?

1 Never seek revenge: Revenge is not the answer to anything. Just move on and rebuild your life.

2 Miscommunication kills a lot of relationships: Had SNSD and Jessica communicated a lot better, things would have turned out differently.

3 It is okay to tell the truth, but check your facts: There is a blur between truth and fiction. Tread cautiously with whatever you put out there

4 Admit your flaws: This is Jessica's biggest fatal flaw; her inability to own up to her own mistakes. SNSD messed up, no doubt about it, but she too did some not-so-good things.

5 There are always two sides to a story: Jessica has so far said her side of the story, and some of it is starting to look false. The others have chosen to stay quiet due to the contracts they are all under, even though some have left SM Entertainment. By taking such a step, it is risky, but at the same time, they may have made the right decision in this scenario. Perhaps one day, they would give their account of Jessica.