Controversial K-Pop Songwriter Apologizes for Racial Rant, Treated for Paranoid Schizophrenia

Songwriter Jenny Hyun, who sparked controversy after posting a series of deragatory comments calling for the eradication of African-Americans, issued an apology on her blog.

On February 19, the previous apology entry titled “Official Apology to The Black Community” was removed and replaced by a message which was presumably written by her family.

The entry asks for the understanding of people regarding Hyun’s outrageous behaviour and racists remarks on Twitter, who is referred to as “a paranoid schizophrenic” who has been battling with her mental illness for many years. Hyun is said to have been admitted to a hospital according to the message. In her previous blogs, Jenny Hyun often mentioned her illness,

“The problem with my illnesses is that they cannot be cured, only treated.  Every day is a battle with my brain, which works against me often.  But I see myself improving all the time, and I’m just glad I’m going in the right direction.” and “Since I was 20 yrs. old I have tried virtually every psychiatric medication under the sun. I was beginning to lose hope in finding treatment for whatever it is that’s wrong with my brain. I’m taking 2 medications that are helping me so much to the point that I’ve normalized almost completely now that I’ve been on these meds for a few months. Although I’ve fallen short on advocating psychiatric medications. Some people are easier to treat with meds than others, and there’s always a high chance of the medications making you worse than before. That actually happened to me which is why I avoided taking meds for this long.”

Although there is no way to determine whether it was Hyun in her right mind who posted the tweets or that her illness was behind this, schizophrenia is known for causing an alteration in people’s behaviour and thoughts which is especially strong in a social environment.

There are several types of schizophrenia. Paranoid schizophrenia can trigger a radical change in behaviour, can cause depression and irritability, possibly hatred.

While we won’t know for sure if the apology was posted by Hyun herself or her family, the massive amount of offending and racist tweets she posted, the hatred she released as well as the stir she caused won’t be as easy to forget as removing a blog entry.