ALi Apologizes to Parents of “Nayoungee”

[benihime99.livejournal.com]

It was reported today that ALi made a personal visit to the parents of “Nayoung” over the weekend to apologize for the song, “Nayoungee,” that mentions Nayoung’s 2008 rape incident. Better known as the “Cho Doo Soon Case” in Korea for its brutality, Nayoung is the name of the eight-year old victim who was sexually assaulted by Cho Doo Soon at a local church in 2008.

The meeting was held on December 17, a day after ALi’s emotional press conference where she revealed for the first time that she herself is a rape victim and just wanted to give hope and comfort to Nayoung through this song.

“After the press conference, ALi met with Nayoung’s father on December 17. The two hugged and wept as soon as they met, and Nayoung’s father embraced her as if she's his own daughter,” ALi’s representative said.

The meeting was first made public through So Jae Won, the writer of the book, “Searching for Wings of Hope,” which is a novel based on the “Cho Doo Soon Case.” He wrote on his personal home page, “Nayoung’s father told ALi that she’s a beautiful girl with a deep heart. He said he wanted to support her moving forward.”

The writer also apologized for openly criticizing ALi online. “I apologize for not understanding the real meaning behind ALi’s lyrics, despite being a writer. Since you are deeply wounded, I would like to embrace you with warmth. Please forgive the cruel comments I made about you in the last few days,” So Jae Won said. “Just like ALi apologized and gave hope to Nayoung’s family, we are obligated to give her hope, since we took it away from her. Now is the time to support her,” he added.

Previously, So Jae Won said, “I’ve sworn to become Nayoung’s protecting shield and Nayoung’s father’s life-long partner. I demand a sincere apology from ALi. There are a lot of parts that make me question her sincerity in the song (Nayoungee).”

ALi has gone under fire for the lines of the song, “Nayoungee,” that says, “You threw away your youth, selling your body, selling your soul, Your pitiful life has been taken away from you.” To respond to the criticism, she held a press conference and revealed she’s a rape victim and that all she wanted to do was bring light to Nayoung’s case and give hope to the victim.

Source: Soompi

Comments

[lysblack.livejournal.com]

ugh this whole situation is just heart breaking.

[shikinluv.livejournal.com]

this whole thing breaks my heart.

all rapists should be castrated, it makes me rage that they get away with this shit. on probation? are you fucking kidding me.

stay strong, ladies. :(

[lysblack.livejournal.com]

but see, castration doesn't solve the issue, rape is mostly about power, even if the man is castrated he would find another ways to rape the victim, in fact if he can’t do it himself he tends to be even more violent towards the victim, blaming her/him over the fact that he can’t get it up/do it, it’s really scary, rapists are sick individuals.

the way most of people, everywhere really, sees rape should be changed, society always find excuse for the men actions, making the victims somehow someone to blame, because of the clothes they were wearing, the partners they had previously or whatever else they could find to justify why the man did this to her, instead of being a sick asshole who should spend all his days in jail.

[shikinluv.livejournal.com]

it makes me so terribly sad. it's...what do you do against such reckless, random violence against your person and how dare people blame you for something you had no hand in. how do you even begin to cope with it. i cannot imagine their pain.

plus korea's sentencing laws are messed up. i couldn't believe the murderer who stabbed Iris's lead vocalist got off with a 17-year jail term because had paid 10k to the family and shown remorse. she's dead, no amount of money or regret is ever going to bring her back.

[kiminikaeru.livejournal.com]

i feel so sorry for her and it's nice she still apologized to nayoung's father, even though she did nothing wrong.

[yunizhamasaki.livejournal.com]

Can someone tell me about that Cho Doo Soon Case?

[kotetsu.livejournal.com]

this (http://richardlstansfield.wordpress.com/2009/11/18/chos-sexual-violence/), this (http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/Editorials/2009/10/17/91/1300000000AEN20091017000700320F.HTML), and this (http://www.reuters.com/article/2009/11/09/idUSSEO229240) should help.

[yunizhamasaki.livejournal.com]

thank you so much for your help

[cagallisakura.livejournal.com]

A 50 year old man sexually assaulting an eight year old girl is disgusting enough, but to do so at a local church? JFC why is this scum still alive?

Could Ali maybe have done this song without using the girl's name?

[deerlike.livejournal.com]

Honestly, it seems to me that ALi titled her song "Nayoung" symbolically, since the lyrics itself don't refer specifically to Nayoung's rape or the Cho Doo Soon case. ("Nayoung" is a pseudonym anyway, so I don't quite understand the public/netizen furor.) Anyway imo, the only people who have the right to be upset with ALi for the liberty she took are Nayoung and her family, as her song's title might have inadvertently stirred up psychological anguish for them. Now that she's apologized for that lack of foresight on her part, the press needs to drop the controversy and let both ALi and Nayoung step forward and heal.

[deerlike.livejournal.com]

*"Nayoung" symbolically, with "Nayoung" being a metonym for "rape victim"

[lysblack.livejournal.com]

ia.

[kotetsu.livejournal.com]

agreed.

[shiz-lestat.livejournal.com]

mte

[uniqlos.livejournal.com]

yeah, i liked the title of the song and the symbolism to it. other than the part of the song that i disagree with, it's a quite hopeful, beautiful song that i hope would help nayoung and other women/girls going through the same trauma. and it would be therapeutic for ali to sing it too.

maybe i'd only change the part of the lyrics that's been criticized but i hope she can have the song in the album.

[deerlike.livejournal.com]

Honestly, I don't know what to make of those particular lines in the song - I don't know if it's an awkward translation (I don't speak Korean myself), or if it's ambiguous shift in perspective (to the rapist), or what. Given that I don't know what ALi is expressing, as well as my belief in the freedom of artistic expression, I feel it's not my place to censor her.

Those are just my thoughts, though.

[frequency.livejournal.com]

i think i read before that it was directed towards the rapist.

[deerlike.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I read that too - that it was sort of turning the shame on the rapist, which is a really empowering notion imo. And even if the lyrics mean something otherwise, let's say, expressing the loathing that a victim puts themselves through, I think that's still valid. Not that it's even my place to say whether or not something is valid, as it's art, and I haven't even experienced what ALi or Nayoung have experienced. I am just firmly in the camp of letting the song remain as it is, title and all, unless Nayoung herself asks ALi to do otherwise.

[uniqlos.livejournal.com]

yeah i agree. maybe "change the lyrics" was the wrong phrase, clarifying the lyrics is what i meant to say. maybe it's clearer in korean but idk why it would have netizens in hackles.

[deerlike.livejournal.com]

Yeah, she could clarify for the public's benefit. Whether or not the netizens would choose to believe her is another story - tbh I think anything raises their hackles. They'll always find a reason to hate.

[uniqlos.livejournal.com]

she's such an amazing lady, i really hope this doesn't set her back. nayoung too, i read somewhere she was doing better, so i want only good things for them, and everyone else trying to survive after something like this.

[deerlike.livejournal.com]

iawtc! That's what people need to focus on - letting them both get better and move forward.

[sayuai.livejournal.com]

Ugh...I feel so sorry for them. The part with Nayoung's father and Ali hugging and crying brought tears to my eyes. I'm glad that they were able to understand each other...

[hinadori.livejournal.com]

I looked up the Nayoung case after this controversy started and the details are sick and horrifying. That bullshit excuse about being drunk is pure BULLSHIT! If anyone deserved the death penalty it's that guy.

[octocoffee.livejournal.com]

this is utterly heartbreaking. I'm really glad that Nayoung's family is so immeasurably kind, but then again, seeing how rape destroyed their lives as they knew it, I'm sure they can only connect to Ali. I hope they can call move forward from this in peace.

♥ let them be, and let them grow.

[miki-831.livejournal.com]

oh my god, I just read a summery of the crime and it is one of the worst things I have ever read. I normally don't support the death penalty but this s.o.b needs to be put down


summery of crime
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/na-young.html

[wotdoumean.livejournal.com]

oh my god

[benihime99.livejournal.com]

Mental institution is way to kind dear.
Let him rot in some prison cell where other inmates know what he's done.

[angel-9-lives.livejournal.com]

better yet, put him in an AMERICAN prison cell, and make sure the fellow prisoners know why he's there.

[aj-123.livejournal.com]

mte they would eat his ass alive

[angel-9-lives.livejournal.com]

if he was lucky and/or they happened to be in a particularly good mood:P (and if I were the warden, I'd make sure they had just gone about a month w/o tv, any kind of junk food, etc etc.)

[xkeirafanx.livejournal.com]

This is just horrible.
That man should never be let out of prison ever again. Never ever again.

[krissasaur]

yea. im not even clicking. i just knwow hen it happened, and i read the details and............. it scarred me for at least a month D: just thinking about it now i cringe.

[aj-123.livejournal.com]

Wait wait stop the damn press, this sick mofo only got 12 years????? What in the actual hell is wrong with their judicial system? Let his ass rot in jail for life!

[anconeous.livejournal.com]

Guys like that rapist have no reason to keep living, really. Sick, disgusting piece of shit.

[evivante.livejournal.com]

WHAT. THE. FUCK.

This is one of the worst things I've ever come across, I can't even believe that this is true and that it really happened in real life. The victim needs to have all his 5 senses and his penis taken out and let him live a life without a soul and without anything to hang on to. Death is too easy of an option. FUCKING HELL.

[benihime99.livejournal.com]

You mean the offender

[evivante.livejournal.com]

Yes omg sorry for that typo, so caught up in my anger =/

[eatingthepie.livejournal.com]

jesus

[midnitexsonata.livejournal.com]

I teared up, reading this makes me think even children need to go out carrying pepper spray or stun guns.

regardless, I admire ALi for apologizing even though she did nothing wrong.

[nobodyelse-care.livejournal.com]

Stay strong, ALi!

the song, btw.

[uniqlos.livejournal.com]

Re: the song, btw.

[deerlike.livejournal.com]

It's such a good song - musically and lyrically, and I really like her voice. It's got this offbeat color to it, and it's not as polished and slick as kpop voices often tend to be. tbh, I'd be supporting her as an artist even without all this controversy.

Re: the song, btw.

[angela-derp-otp.livejournal.com]

This song brings tears to my eyes every time. As someone who saw her best friend going through that to the point she couldn't live anymore. It breaks my heart that I can understand the lyrics.

Re: the song, btw.

[angela-derp-otp.livejournal.com]

It's beautiful and she's so talented.

[sugarbunnyxx.livejournal.com]

WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK IS THIS SHIT
not ALi, but the rapist! Holy shit! I just read the article explaining all the gruesome details, and are you fucking kidding me. Not even joking, I would go over there and sentence him to death myself! All this just makes me want to become a judge so I can put criminals like him in their rightful place. How could he NOT get the death penalty?
Not only did he commit murder, but torture to that poor girl before she even died.
I'm totally ranting now, but srsly? Do people like him even deserve to continue to live? How did he even expect to get away with this shit? OH I FORGOT, South Korea would just make him stay in prison for 12 years anyways. Go ahead, all rapists in Korea should just go out and rape who the fuck they want.
FUCK THE WORLD. GODDAMIT