NewJeans' Hanni cleared up a misunderstanding about her label not allowing her to take Korean lessons.

On November 21, Hanni held a live stream, and Bunnies (NewJeans' fandom name) poked fun at her mistakes with Korean. She responded by saying she wanted to take Korean lessons, but her label did not allow her. Hanni expressed, "Hey! I have something to say. I told the label I wanted to take Korean classes too, but they said I can't. They said I don't need them. I thought, 'Huh? There's no way I don't need them.' My last class was 2 years ago."

Since then, fans have been criticizing ADOR for allegedly not allowing their artist to grow. As the complaints from fans have been ongoing, Hanni personally cleared up the misunderstanding on the fan platform Phoning in both Korean and English, explaining it was simply a joke between her and her manager. She further explained she never asked her label ADOR or CEO Min Hee Jin to take Korean lessons. 

Following the issue, Hanni wrote to fans, "About a year ago I mentioned to my manager, who left the company earlier, about how I wanted to start doing Korean classes again. She replied on the spot very lightly, so I took it as a joke and also found it quite funny. I just wanted to share a fun story with you, but I think there was a misunderstanding. That conversation has not reached my label or CEO as it was a very light one. I feel awfully sorry about this."

Read Hanni's full message below. 

[UPDATE]

ADOR has also released a statement addressing the issue. Read their English statement below:

"Dear All,

In light of the various false information circulating after Hanni’s recent Phoning live, we would like to clarify the company’s position. While this may be a passing issue, we would still like to provide everyone with the full details in order to dispel any exaggerated claims. Our objective is to address any concerns by sharing accurate facts and presenting the company’s clear perspective.

Regarding members’ education, ADOR has been hiring instructors and scheduling classes based on the needs of NewJeans members. We have been doing so continuously, and even recently, we had a separate language class for Hanni. This applies to Korean language education as well. Academic matters and privacy-related matters are personal decisions that bear great importance to the members, and the company have never [sic] made decisions for them upon our own discretion.

Hyein’s decision to take the school equivalency exam and pursue homeschooling was entirely made by her parents, and the rumor that Hyein has had her teeth laminated is not true. Hyein started the dental program before joining ADOR as a trainee, with the consent of her parents. Furthermore, the program was aimed at improving dental alignment safety while preserving her existing teeth as much as possible, which is clearly different from dental laminates. All the aforementioned information pertains to events that occurred before Hyein joined ADOR as a trainee, so we have thoroughly verified the facts for each matter.

ADOR places utmost importance on the fact that the members of NewJeans are going through a significant phase of personal growth and learning that goes beyond their entertainment activities, encompassing all aspects of their daily lives. ADOR is making efforts to ensure that even the smallest skills required for entertainment activities are part of their learning process and is hence providing support to ensure that minor to significant decisions in their work as well as their personal lives are made carefully and thoughtfully. We also believe that fully supporting any decision they make is another important responsibility of ADOR.

As always, ADOR will fulfill our responsibilities with dedication and commitment in supporting the NewJeans members. Therefore, we sincerely request that you refrain from unfounded speculations and exaggerated interpretations regarding privacy matters concerning the members.

Thank you."