Former Trainee’s Deleted Claims About NJZ Spark Heated Debate
A recent article went viral on Korean community sites for its astounding claims. The article’s title was also edited once before being taken down entirely, sparking doubt over the legitimacy of its claims.
The article covered the story of Japanese model Harada Rin, better known by her stage name Harin.
She had been a trainee at Source Music and HYBE, according to her profile. The article claimed that she had been in the debut lineup for NJZ (formerly known as NewJeans) before being “crushed.”
The original title of the article was “NJZ had a 5th member…Harin. Told to leave right before debut.”
“Japanese-born model Harin (Harada Rin) has revealed that she once dreamed of debuting as a member of NewJeans, but her hopes were crushed. Harin appeared on the YouTube channel of Japanese actor Hiromitsu Takeda, where she talked about her life in Korea and shared that she was once an idol trainee.
She explained that she had to give up her dream of becoming an idol due to a sudden decision by her agency just before debut. ‘For two years, I practiced like crazy from morning until night without even sleeping,” she recalled. “My parents were ready to go sign the contract, and the company CEO was saying, ‘Let’s debut our Harin.’ Everything was set.’
However, she said, ‘One day, they suddenly told me to terminate the contract, and I was the only one told to ‘leave.’ It was so hard. I worked so hard and came so far, so why would they drop me at that point?’
Harin also shared that during the termination process, she wasn’t even able to see her members or friends before being put on a flight back to Japan. Still, she reflected on the experience with maturity, saying, “Looking back now, I think that experience made me who I am today and motivated me to work even harder.”
Born in 2003, Harin debuted as an early member of the Japanese idol group Shibu3 Project before passing the HYBE sub-label Source Music audition in 2020. She later transferred to ADOR and was part of the NewJeans debut lineup. After leaving the idol path, she transitioned to modeling and acting in Korea, where she remains active today.”
The title was later revised to “Harin, faces despair right before idol debut… What is the background of the idol-turned-actress wannabe?“
Fans were also quick to point out that her company had originally only listed her as part of Source Music’s debut group.
After buzz took off, they quickly added in “ADOR.” Fans further pointed out that ADOR was created in 2021, whereas her trainee year was stated as 2020.
With the amount of doubt cast on the interview and her background, it is unsurprising that many have begun to dismiss it as noise-marketing for her upcoming career as an actress.
