K-pop Star Faces Verbal Abuse on Set

A K-pop star has revealed how she was once verbally abused on the set of a Korean TV series.

Nam Jihyun, 36, shot to fame as a member of the chart-topping girl group 4Minute, which led to her launching a successful acting career on the side. 

During a recent interview on the Hwang Bora Boraiety channel, Jihyun recalled an incident during a Korean drama she filmed where the director demeaned her on set. 

'When I was filming my first K-drama while in 4Minute, the camera director said, "Hey, ugly b*tch! Stand in front",' she said, according to a translation from Koreaboo. 

'I thought, "Okay, I'll handle this with positive energy," so I responded brightly, "Here comes the ugly b*tch,"' she continued.

'Then he laughed and said, "Haha, look at this b*tch."

The director later apologized to Jihyun, but only because he had mistaken her for somebody less famous.

'Afterward, he apologized, saying he didn’t realize I was in 4Minute. He thought I was a rookie actress and wanted to test my courage,' she explained.

4Minute were one of the most popular K-pop groups of the early 2010s, which was the same time period that Jihyun was launching her acting career.

She has since starred in over a dozen Korean dramas and several movies, but she pivoted out of acting in recent years to become a Pilates instructor. 

She now owns her own barre studio, which is frequented by a number of Korean celebrities and K-pop stars. 

Meanwhile, her former 4Minute bandmate Hyuna made worldwide headlines last year .  

The 33-year-old was performing her hit song Bubble Pop at the Waterbomb Festival in Macau in November when she became woozy while trying to push through the song's signature choreography.  

In horrifying footage, she can be seen sluggishly gyrating her hips and turning around .

Her backup dancers and a security guard then rushed to her aid and carried the unconscious hitmaker off stage.  

Prior to her collapse, she had been on an extreme diet which saw her shed 10kg (22lbs) in just one month. 

Hyuna has been open about her many health woes, which have been caused by years of disordered eating. 

The K-pop veteran, who was just 15 when she debuted on the music scene, previously confessed to eating just one piece of sushi a day so that she could keep her weight down to 40kg (88lbs).

4Minute debuted in 2009 with the single 'Hot Issue'.

They went on to release a string of huge K-pop hits over the next seven years, including the No. 1s 'Whatcha Doin' Today?' and 'What's Your Name?'.

The group officially disbanded in 2016 when their contract ran out, with Hyuna going on to continue her successful solo career.