Lately, K-pop's been plagued with a whole bunch of scandals and issues. 2012 was filled with scandals surrounding T-ara, Nichkhun, Block B, and Kang Ho Dong. In 2013, the year isn't even halfway done and we have even more scandals with the notable cases featuring Park Si Hoo, Go Young Wook and most recently with Hyosung's word choice accident. When celebrities have these scandals, most of them take the tried-and-true route: they drop out of the spotlight for a while, and when people have pretty much forgotten, they'll attempt to come back. But do people really forget or give forgiveness?

Take Nichkhun, for example. A DUI is no joking matter - it's a serious offense. And it didn't help that Nichkhun left the man he hit on the road and then went to buy drinks from the nearest convenience store to pass his alcohol test. He made it worse by lying about it (only to get found out later). Some people may laugh it off, but a shocking number of innocent people lose their lives due to drunk drivers. Nichkhun took cues from others before him with DUI's, dropping out of the scene to repent, and even participating in community service. Nichkhun is most likely a good guy that just happened to make a bad decision. When he came back, he was greeted with hot support from everyone - Right? 

2PM released their two title songs, and what happened to the songs? Not much unfortunately. Their first release did manage to shortly reach #1 on some iTunes charts in Asian countries, most of which don't even use iTunes as their main music source (most notably Korea). Although they topped the physical album chart most recently on Gaon, the boys have yet to do much on the digital charts. They're getting beaten by 4minute, SECRET, and other girl groups. Someone like 2PM, who's been out for quite a while and have immense public recognition, should easily have been #1 on the day of release (daily, not real-time), and have stayed within the top 10, but that hasn't happened.

So what happened to 2PM? It's ridiculous to say Nichkhun's DUI is the sole reason that 2PM isn't doing as well as they envisioned. The more likely reason is their incredibly long hiatus, but then again, a big part of the lengthy hiatus was due to Nichkhun's DUI. The boys were supposed to have a comeback last year, but then his DUI happened and obviously the boys couldn't promote without him. And when the boys finally returned, it was with a comeback song that wasn't a huge statement BAM-2PM-IS-HERE. It was more like a hi-we-may-be-back, which was definitely not enough to make people forget that Nichkhun was drunk when he was driving. In fact, what their comeback DID do was bring Nichkhun's accident back into consciousness again, not bury it under their awesomeness.

Kangin suffered a similar problem with his own alcohol related issues, except his is even worse because he did it not once, but twice. Even Leeteuk admitted that he had a hard time forgiving Kangin after the second time. Kangin took the wisest decision as he dropped out of public view and went straight to the army. He came back, started to volunteer, lost weight, and attempted to repair his image. Did it work? It's hard to say, but the answer seems to be mostly no. 

Kangin used to be one of the members with an ample bulk of lines in Super Junior songs because he could carry a decent tune. Yet, for his long awaited comeback, he had only 1 line in "Sexy, Free & Single" and 1 line in "Spy". For the most part, he spends most of his time behind the other members. It's true that he wasn't really that great of a dancer to begin with, so he usually had the back placement in choreography. But his lack of presence on stage is almost excessive to the point that he's easily forgotten, and long-time ELFs know it's quite hard to hide Kangin's presence. 

It's not just on stage - he's not very liked in general, either. Before, his image was the big bear you wanted to hug and had the cutest smile, now it's the guy who had a drunken fit twice. He was one of the most popular members along with Heechul, Siwon, and Leeteuk, but now he's one of the least known members. Even when people do remember, they'll say, "oh, it's that troublemaker in Super Junior."

Let's move on to Block B, probably the biggest case of we-neither-forget-nor-forgive. These boys are probably the biggest victims of hate comments that aren't deserved, especially with just one mistake. Zico even shaved his hair and the group took 8 months off after the Thailand scandal, but was that enough? Sadly, no. "Nillili Mambo" fell sadly short of "Nanrina". The boys are still bombarded with hate comments all over the internet, and because of their one mistake, everything they do is first viewed in a negative light. (For example, take Taeil's joke on the 'ugly staff member' that everyone thought he was talking about a girl group member. I don't think that would have happened if someone in say Big Bang made that comment.) 

Not only that, but the Zico-produced tracks for D-Unit and OFFROAD didn't do well at all. "Talk To My Face" and "Thank You" ranked similarly or lower than D-Unit's debut track on the Gaon Chart, and didn't rank at all on Billboard K-Pop Hot 100 while their previous singles did. Zico probably didn't bring them down, but he didn't bring them up at all, like everyone was hoping. Especially to people who don't really listen to mainstream K-pop, Block B has been forever branded the 'insolent group' because of one mistake, and that image still haunts them today.

One of the biggest names in Korean entertainment is undoubtedly Kang Ho Dong. He had the tax scandal back in 2012, but he made a return in an attempt to sweep back his place as the king of variety shows. 

Before we get into Kang Ho Dong, let me start telling you how big Kang Ho Dong was. Sure, people said Yoo Jae Suk and Kang Ho Dong were the two nation MCs, but Kang Ho Dong swept the Daesangs and won every ratings battle. 'Star King' won against 'Infinity Challenge', '1 Night 2 Days' recorded over 40% in ratings while 'Running Man' floundered in the teens, and 'Knee Drop Guru' dropped 'Come to Play' on its knees in ratings. He was at the top of his game before controversy struck and he had no choice but to step down. And now? Did he really make a triumphant return? 

Judging by ratings (which is really the ultimate goal of variety shows), not so much. He's floundering in all of his new shows, and his 'Moonlight Prince' was axed after getting a superbly tepid response. Maybe it's just coincidence that his shows aren't doing well after he's returned. After all, people seem to be preferring the 'healing talk show code' these days (hence the popularity of shows like 'Healing Camp', 'Radio Star', and 'Incarnation') over his perhaps outdated raucous laughter. 

Is it just a really big coincidence that all these celebrities returning from their hiatuses after scandals can't get back on their feet? Maybe, but that's a pretty big coincidence. And how about cases where celebrities haven't served their "mandatory hiatus" or those who should be in their "mandatory hiatus"?

When news broke out MC Mong might be coming back, the response was mostly negative. It may not seem like a big issue to international fans, but enlistment dodging is a HUGE issue in Korea. Of course, the thing about MC Mong is that he himself doesn't seem to want to come back - at least not yet. And he can't, anyway, not yet, with a major broadcasting company like KBS blocking his appearance. 

Park Si Hoo is next in line and will most likely drop out of the public eye for a while. In fact, he already sort of has - he's apparently unable to be contacted by anyone, and his friends say that he's probably not going to be in the public eye for a while. He'd made the situation for himself worse by promising to "clear up everything" once the investigations were over, and then refusing to say anything at all on the charges suddenly being dropped. One thing for sure is that he's lost the popularity that he had rapidly built up for himself. Will people forget and forgive when he decides to return?

Go Young Wook is a special case because unlike the others, he was tried in court and found guilty. Not only that, but he'll be going to jail for quite a time unless his appeal goes through (which it probably won't). I can't see him returning to the industry anytime soon if ever. Shin Jung Hwan, who also went to jail, may be able to have a comeback because at least his case didn't involve any minors or any kind of sex, but for sure nothing can salvage Go Young Wook's ruined career. 

We also have SECRET's Hyosung, and it's unfair to put her along with MC Mong, Park Si Hoo and Go Young Wook because her mistake was just that - an honest mistake with no negative intentions. But sadly the damage is done and it's not even the negative 'IlBe' image that everyone's slamming on her - it's the image that she's not the sharpest knife in the drawer. Her apology wasn't quite the best thought-out either, when she claimed she didn't know what 'democratization' meant when the word is quite self-explanatory. I'm pretty sure Hyosung understands exactly what the word means, and just had a Freudian slip while being caught up in the moment (doesn't everyone?). But when she claimed that she didn't know what it meant, she kind of dug a hole for herself.

Now, we have the special case of T-ara who opted to not take a break at all. It's mostly likely that the T-ara girls are just as innocent as the next girl group, but it's true that they definitely 'created a social disturbance', even if it wasn't all their fault. I think the girls should have taken a break - not at all to admit any one of the rumors, but by saying that they "apologize for causing the social disturbance", which is the fallback excuse nowadays. 

No one knows if T-ara would have gotten any less hate if they took a hiatus, but I think it would have at least saved them from being called shameless. And people may say that T-ara is still going on strong, but it's still fact that "Sexy Love" didn't chart or sell as well as their previous hits. To top it all off, T-ara N4's single isn't doing so hot either, even as a subunit. Their songs are barely charting if at all, and they've yet to sell out the 40,000 albums when CCM used to proudly boast that T-ara usually sells 70,000. Yes, I understand that the girls are a subunit, but that's honestly no excuse. TaeTiSeo, Orange Caramel, and others have done perfectly fine. Additionally, T-ara N4 features the 3 most popular girls in T-ara.

Most of all, it's true that the girls' image is tainted, and a good bit is due to those in charge. Their label claims the girls won't do soju commercials because they don't want them to be doing anything negative, and then go ahead and film a pachinko commercial... which pertains to gambling. Recently, they had their road manager cursing out a 50-year-old volunteer at the Dream Concert, which is again not at all their fault but keeps getting linked back to them anyway. 

Is there really no hope for these celebrities? All these examples of celebrities not being able to attain their previous status after a scandal. Everyone makes mistakes, so does that simply mean their career is down the drain?

Thankfully, there's a guy who managed to win his way back into hearts, and it's none other than Shin Dong Yup. He had an unfortunate run-in with marijuana back in 1999. As with everyone, even though he took a hiatus, he saw a heavy drop in popularity for quite some time and saw others like Kang Ho Dong and Yoo Jae Suk build their careers up while he struggled. But did he let that break him down? Nope. 

Shin Dong Yup kept working, had an easy-going attitude about it all, easily joking about the 'incident'. At first people didn't like him, but he had nothing but smiles for everyone and he kept smiling even at times where most people would have gotten offended. And it worked! He snagged a Daesang and a Best Couple Award at the end of last year, the first award ever for him since about a decade ago. And it's not just the awards - he's endeared himself to viewers with his famous perverted comedy. No one even brings up his marijuana scandal anymore.

So there's hope for all these celebrities who've made a small mistake. It ultimately took Shin Dong Yup a decade to stand back up, and some of these celebrities don't have that kind of time. But still, not everyone needs 10 years. G-Dragon and Daesung returned triumphantly not too long after their own respective scandals. Shinhwa's Hyesung is also promoting with his head held high even after his gambling incident. In this rapidly changing landscape with the internet, it's true that scandals are what people tend to be more drawn to. The information spreads fast, and eyeballs are glued. In this millennial generation, it's easy for people to criticize and hard to praise. For now, it may just be the best for these celebrities to ignore the hate and work hard to better themselves. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst, forgive and forget.

"Millions of people living as foes. Maybe. it's not too late. To learn how to love, and forget how to hate." - Ozzy Osbourne "Crazy Train"