Former T-ARA’s Areum Reveals Disturbing Photos Of Injuries From Domestic Abuse

In a shocking new exposé, former T-ARA member Areum revealed the prolonged domestic abuse she endured at the hands of her ex-husband, Kim Young Gul.

The singer took to her personal Instagram on March 25, KST, detailing how Kim physically and emotionally abused her in a lengthy, 5-page-long post. She mentioned that during their marriage, her ex-husband refused to help with the finances save two or three times. While she pulled all strings to be as thrifty as possible, he would get upset over her spending on necessities like vitamins for her kids. This behavior then amounted to physical assault while their kid was present in the room.

Then, one day in November 2021, he completely lost control of his temper. He pinned me down on the bed and ripped my clothes off, choking me and threatening to kill me—in front of our child watching. He also beat me enough to give me bruises around my nose. He also punched the bottom of my feet, and I couldn’t walk for a while. That’s when he got a call from his mother. As soon as he picked up, he told her, “She’s acting crazy right now, and she’s being violent with me. She needs to be in a psych ward.” So I started screaming, “He’s the one beating me up right now. Please help.” But she hung up. He became even more violent after the phone call, and he started beating me up again. I couldn’t think of anything else but my child. I tried my best to calm him down, and I was able to convince him to talk in the living room. The thing is, whenever we’d have a fight, he’d take my phone away and lock me up in the bedroom, either talking to me or hitting me until his rage subsided. So when he stepped away from the living room for a second—to talk to his mom or someone on the phone—I grabbed my child and ran out the door. I didn’t even think about the fact that my clothes were ripped.

— Areum

She also attached photographic evidence from the day of this incident. In the caption, she wrote that there were more bruises all over her body, but she wouldn’t be able to reveal it all publicly.

These pictures are from the day he mercilessly beat me in front of my child.
I ran off to my mom’s place and took these pictures as soon as I got there.
You can see that my dress is all ripped up.
I can’t show you all of them, but I was seriously bruised all over my body.
My nose was crooked from the beating, and it was bruised for a long time.

— Areum

Despite this physical abuse, Areum said that she tried to work out their marriage and appeared on the variety show Between Marriage and Divorce with Kim. While on the program, she said she was hiding many ugly truths about her ex-husband. Part of the reason why she decided to reveal the real details of her marriage was that she anticipated that the viewers who saw her on the show would obviously have questions and misunderstandings about the whole situation.

While appearing on Between Marriage and Divorce, Areum and Kim Young Gul ended up having a “good day,” and that’s when their second child was conceived. However, the abuse continued, and at one point, Kim prevented her from seeing her own child.

We were at peace for a while until a month before November 2022, when I was due to give birth to my second child. We got into another fight, so I stayed over at my mom’s house to give us both time to calm down. That’s when he wished me good luck giving birth on my own. The next day, when I contacted him to tell him that I’d be picking up my first child and heading home, he told me not to come because his mom was over and I was no longer needed. I was speechless. I don’t think I can ever explain how I felt at that moment.

— Areum

Eventually, Areum’s mother-in-law asked her to return home since watching the older child was becoming too much work for her to handle alone. However, when she went back, her husband stopped coming home, and from then on, for about the next four months, she lived with her mother-in-law, who would “gaslight” her. This is when she decided to start preparing for Sing Again in an attempt to change her situation.

She also found out later that her ex-husband was into gambling and prostitution, even before the two were together.

Even when my first child was sick with meningitis, and I was at the hospital while carrying my second child, he was out drinking at an adult establishment. That made me so angry. If it hadn’t been for the law, I wouldn’t have left him alone. But I want to punish him in the court of law, so I’m holding back. Also, when I was pregnant with my second child, he was not coming home because he was sleeping with a prostitute. He kept getting mad at me, saying he didn’t have any money because his business was struggling. And he cursed at me in front of his mother, calling me a “crazy b*tch” and getting physically violent with me. His mom even called the police on him once. Through all those times, he was lying about not having any money to spend for me.

— Areum

Things kept regressing in her marriage so much that she tried to take her life once and had to be admitted to the ICU. This is when her current fiancé helped her. Areum mentioned in the post that the two met long after she had separated from Kim. They started talking when he, as a long-time fan, sent her a message thanking her for hanging on. She eventually opened up to him after that.

While she was in the ICU, Areum said she lost herself and wanted to leave her children behind. Her current fiancé then came to her support and helped her through the crisis instead of blaming her.

However, Areum also revealed in the caption that despite all of this, she wouldn’t be able to sue Kim for the abuse because she initially believed in his words of remorse and didn’t keep records of the physical abuse.

When he begged for forgiveness, I got soft. I was stupid to let him off the hook like that. I didn’t even think to go to the hospital and leave records for evidence…
And that’s exactly why I can’t sue him for assaulting me. I regret it so much.
Anyway, thank you for reading my story. And I’m so sorry that I keep causing concern to my friends and fans. But I can’t live in despair like this anymore, which is why I’m posting everything. And I will prevail. I’m going to stay strong so I can protect my children.

— Areum

Areum ended her note by saying that while she is worried her exposé might make people feel uncomfortable, she wanted to let the truth be told to stop people from speculating about what happened between her and her ex-husband. She also thanked everyone for their support and affirmed that she will not be intimidated by Kim or his legal threats anymore.

I was so upset that I might have rambled on. But I hope you understand, and I’d appreciate it if you could see the message for what it is because I just wanted to explain what happened to me.

And lastly, if you’re looking to sue me for defamation again, let me say one more thing. You better mark my words. Karma is real, and evil will be punished. So wait your turn, Mr. Kim Young Gul.

— Areum

This graphic account of her abuse came after Areum had previously revealed how severely Kim and his mother had abused their two children before she attained full custody. You can read more about it here.