Gian Pollicar
Professor Carissa Baker
ENC 1101
14 Nov 2018
The Hidden Corruption of the Korean Entertainment Industry
The peak of entertainment in South Korea has gradually increased acknowledgement around the world. The celebrities, also known as idols, are the center of why K-pop, also known as ‘Korean pop’ has become a phenomenon that different parts of the world have come to enjoy. Though, many are unaware of the conflicts that occur behind closed doors. Behind the manufacture of the ‘perfect’ idol comes with a price and a hidden motive. This includes the sacrifice of mental health and a want to fulfill a larger economic growth that is deemed competitive with other companies. It has become an overlying controversy that the citizens of South Korea have become passive upon, but in recent outlets – the problem arose again and this time it caught the attention of multiple. A question that becomes persistent is: “Are the people of South Korea ignoring this conflict due to the capitalist nature of their society? Or is it due to their conservative and traditional views that are still considered superior to modern liberal views?” As South Korea is becoming more known around the world, they are gradually becoming a modern society but their outlook on mental health and the oppression of the entertainment industry continues to become a steady conflict that continues to become unresolved after numerous years.
The aspects of happiness and success are mainly displayed to the general public. Though, what is not shown are how the idols of the South Korean entertainment industry are treated. Mistreatment of companies are fairly well known in South Korea and it is not a rare occurrence to see an idol suffering from an unstable mental state or physically struggling to keep up with the piled-up schedules laid out for them. Recently in October 2018, Media Line entertainment has been in the South Korean news outlets after Lee Seok-cheol, the leader of one of their idol groups, the East Light, has spoken up about the constant mistreatment that contained physical abuse. He mentions during the press conference, “From 2015 to 2017, (we) were habitually beaten with a baseball bat or a steel microphone…” and “(We) have constantly been subject to violence, threats, child abuse and human rights violations.” (Yonhap). For two years, the idol group has suffered from the abuse and maltreatment of the company and this correlates to being physically and mentally affected by their surroundings. If Lee Seok-cheol did not speak up, the people of South Korea would not have known that the East Light were constantly beaten. It comes into question of how many more companies are mistreating their idols but have not been exposed to the general public. Not only is there mistreatment of idols, but also trainees under the companies’ wing. Back in 2012, Open World Entertainment became a large controversy due to having sex crimes that included “At least 11 singing aspirants [that] were forced to have sex with singers…” (The Korea Times). Before the revelation that idols were forced to be included in the sex crimes, it was only presented to society as ‘bad practice’ within the entertainment industry and did not receive high regard (The Korea Times). Though, the news article started getting more attention when it was revealed that idols were included. To an outsider’s perspective, it is only shown that South Korea is only concerned when idols are involved in the cases; otherwise they are numb to a corrupted entertainment industry. There were chances of reporting the incident, but no victims came to the light because of their CEO, Jang Suk Woo, has threatened them, “There is no one in the entertainment community whom I don’t know.” (The Korea Times). This is significant in understanding the perspective of the trainees and the idols because though they knew that they were victims, they were too frightened to step into the spotlight with their case because they did not want to sacrifice their present or future career. The pressure of wanting to be successful in a highly competitive entertainment business becomes more important than speaking out for themselves and this emphasizes an unhealthy example of the industry.
Mental health is continuously downplayed in South Korean society and this includes their entertainment industry as well. Multiple idols and actors that face mental health issues try to overcome their struggle within themselves or even try to obtain a therapist. South Korea has a suicide rate of 26.5% per 100,000 people, making them the country of the second highest suicide rate of 2015. (Chun et al.) Though this is a constant conflict that arises in society, it is rarely attended to due to the opinionated viewpoints and perspectives that the citizens have of one another. Jin-Hee, a Korean mental health specialist who grew up in South Korean traditional household said, “One is seen as ‘weak’ if they have a mental health issue. People with mental health issues are seen as ‘crazy’ and the issue is something that must be overcome.” (Jeurgens). The perspective of the South Korean society would correlate into why their suicide rates stay constant and steadily high throughout the years. There is persistent pressure of not wanting to be aware of having a mental illness and even more not wanting to reach out for help in order to improve it. Towards the end of 2017, a wake-up call had arose in the Korean entertainment industry when Kim Jonghyun, a 27-year-old lead singer of the boy group SHINee, committed suicide (Stegar). This grabbed the attention of South Korea as a whole because Jonghyun was under SM Entertainment, one of the most successful companies and he was widely known as an idol under them. In his suicide note, he mentions: “It wasn‘t my path to become world-famous. That’s why they say it‘s hard to go against the world and to become famous.“ and “It‘s a miracle that I endured through it all this time.” (Chung). Jonghyun was battling depression and he specifically mentions in his suicide note that it was a struggle being an idol. He was an idol since 2008, making it 10 years of enduring the pain that he held inside of him. In America, celebrities are constantly in the spotlight and in South Korea it is also the same case. Though, idols are not able to do most of what they want to do due to a strict contract while also pleasing the citizens that are constantly watching over them. Park Kyung, a member of the boy group Block B, spoke to BBC Korea about the K-pop idol lifestyle. He mentions, “…they come to realize later that every move and every word they say is being observed so they become cautious and lose their freedom…” and “…they don't have many opportunities to express how they really feel, since their job requires them to hide their emotions.” (Herman). The oppression of idols in South Korea are much different than celebrities in America because some may end up being banned from society when it comes to employment rather than in America where it is easily forgiven. Idols and actors have a significant role in affecting South Korean society and each news article released could be influential negatively or positively. This was shown in 2008 when actress, Jin-Sil Choi, committed suicide in her home. Her actions unexpectedly impacted the general public when it was reported that there were about 480 excess suicides four weeks after Choi’s home suicide (Nursing Standard). Choi negatively influenced South Korea overall and though it may have contained the context of suicide, mental health was not addressed after this incident.
Inside a contract, there are restrictions and rules that are set. But many companies have been under the spotlight for contracts that included oppression of freedom. Idol contracts in South Korea have also caught the of global news outlets due to the unfair regulations of dating. In 2009, TVXQ, a boy group under SM Entertainment sued the company for their unfair contract. In the legal document, it was stated by the members that: “…the agency prohibited their freedom as artists by claiming that the group's and members' activities belonged to the agency… requiring them to stay under the agency's wing for 13 years.” (Han). This became controversial to the general public when the amount of years included in the contract summarized over ten years. It was brought to light that there was a need for a rewritten contract in not just SM Entertainment, but also in other entertainment companies as well. CUBE Entertainment was recently brought to the spotlight when idols under their company, PENTAGON’s E-dawn and soloist HyunA released to the public that they were dating. Shortly after the news was released, CUBE Entertainment released a statement of: “…it is with great pain that we have come to the conclusion that it will prove difficult for us to rebuild the broken loyalty and trust… we have made the decision to remove them from our label.” (Smith). Though, the two idols were not informed that they were removed from the label. In South Korean entertainment contracts, dating is a strict restriction and because HyunA and E-dawn violated that restriction – they ended up being removed from their company. Dating in the Korean entertainment industry is still a taboo conversation, though the general public reacted to their relationship by plummeting CUBE Entertainment’s stock by 9.43% (Smith). The notable percentage decrease is important in terms of a gradual support system in South Korea’s general public. In the past, it would be rare to see a decrease in percentage due to a removal of an idol couple that is dating but now in the present there is a possibility that South Korea is becoming more open to the topic.
The hidden corruption of the Korean Entertainment industry has been a long on-going process that it is not highly presented to fans of K-pop and K-drama actors. Mental health plays a significant part in showing how the maltreatment of companies will correlate to the deteriorating mental health in not just idols, but also the general public due to the positive or negative influences occurring in the spotlight. Though, South Korea after Kim Jonghyun’s incident late 2017 has been gradually trying to improve their state of mental health in the country along with being more open with the topic that used to be taboo. However, companies still reside with their strict contracts and have yet to remove any oppressive regulations. South Korea is constantly changing and there is a chance for change in the Korean Entertainment industry in the near future as society as a whole is becoming more modernized.
Works Cited
Chun, JongSerl, Kim, Jinyung, Lee Serim. “Fidelity assessment of the suicide reporting guidelines in Korean newspapers.” BMC Public Health. 12 Sept 2018. Academic OneFile. http://dx.doi.org.db26.linccweb.org/10.1186/s12889-018-6014-4 Accessed 29 Oct 2018.
Chung, Catherine. “The full text of Jonghyun’s death note.” The Jakarta Post. The Korea Herald. 19 Dec 2017. http://www.thejakartapost.com/life/2017/12/19/the-full-text-of-jonghyuns-death-note.html Accessed 13 Nov 2018.
“Clinical digest. Intense media coverage of South Korean actress’s suicide blamed for copycat effect.” Nursing Standard. Vol. 29 Issue 3, p19-19. EBSCOhost, http://db26.linccweb.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=98351659&site=ehost-live. Accessed 29 Oct 2018.
Han, Sang-hee. “Is There a Solution for Slave Contracts?” The Korea Times. The Korea Times. 11 Aug 2009. http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/art/2009/08/201_49933.html. Accessed 13 Nov 2018.
Herman, Tamar. “2018 Sees K-pop Stars Addressing Mental Health Stressors in Industry.” Billboard. Billboard. 23 April 2018. https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/k-town/8369832/k-pop-stars-talk-mental-health. Accessed 13 Nov 2018.
Jeurgens, Chris. “’In Korea, there is no mental health’: Barriers to treatment.” Forefront Suicide Prevention. Forefront Suicide Prevention. 29 June 2017. http://www.intheforefront.org/in-korea-there-is-no-mental-health-barriers-to-treatment/ Accessed 14 Nov 2018.
“Sex crimes in showbiz industry jolt society.” The Korea Times. The Korea Times. 24 April 2012. http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2012/04/117_109582.html#. Accessed 14 Nov 2018.
Smith, Nicola. “K-pop stars could be fired for falling in love.” The Telegraph. The Telegraph. 14 Sept 2018. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/09/14/k-pop-stars-could-fired-falling-love/. Accessed 13 Nov 2018.
Stegar, Isabella. “The suicide of a Kpop star is opening up a conversation on mental health in South Korea.” Quart. 19 Dec 2017. Academic OneFile. https://qz.com/quartzy/1160361/suicide-of-shinees-jonghyun-prompts-korea-to-confront-grueling-kpop-industry-and-effect-on-mental-health-kim-jong-hyun/. Accessed 13 Nov 2018.
Yonhap. “Teenage K-pop band member claims beatings, threats by management agency staff.” The Korea Herald. The Korea Herald. 19 Oct 2018. http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20181019000634. Accessed 14 Nov 2018.