In some cases, cameras were hidden in women’s public toilets and motel rooms, others involved the filming and sharing of videos of women taken by partners and former partners. In 2018, almost 6,800 cases of hidden camera crimes were reported to the supreme prosecutors’ office. There has been widespread outrage over the spycam epidemic. Molka – from mollae, Korean for secret, and ka for camera – means the illicit filming of women. While many feel unsafe due to the pervasiveness of molka, gender-based violence and victim-shaming,” she says. “A lot of Korean women can relate to the issues that female celebrities deal with. Goo had been hounded over a court case with an ex-boyfriend over a sex tape that had allegedly been filmed without her consent.Īccording to Mano Lee, a Seoul-based K-pop columnist, the sexism and misogyny that female stars face is a symptom of the way women are treated in wider society. Sulli had experienced sexist abuse and cyber-bullying from thousands of faceless male “anti-fans” (online haters) over her conduct and appearance. It soon emerged that both women had been harassed online for months, if not years. A month later, Goo Hara, 28, a former member of the group Kara and a close friend of Sulli, also took her own life. Then in October last year, Sulli, 25, a former member of the girl group f(x) killed herself. ‘Tthere’s a kind of precariousness that female stars have to live with’: South Korean girl group AOA. Allegations also arose over Seungri’s ties to Burning Sun, a nightclub he founded where date-rape and sexual assault allegedly took place. The case resulted in five- and six-year prison sentences for them respectively for their roles in gang raping drunk, unconscious women. In March 2019, several male K-pop stars, including Seungri, a member of boyband Big Bang, Choi Jong-hoon, a former member of FT Island, and singer-songwriter Jung Joon-young were implicated in a spycam sexual abuse scandal, after Jung shared videos of women in a group chat. Kim Jong-hyun, 27, a member of SHINee, took his own life in 2017 after speaking about the intense pressures brought on by success. At the height of their fame, these men and women seem to have buckled under the strain, unable to live up to the demands placed on them to be polished, picture-perfect ambassadors of this effervescent pop music. There has been a spate of suicides and high-profile sex scandals involving K-pop stars in recent times. But something is very wrong inside K-pop, and it points to a deeper malaise throughout South Korea. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of this pop behemoth that has become South Korea’s best-known cultural export? It’s an industry worth $5bn BTS alone sold more albums than Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish and Ariana Grande last year. Lee is not alone – for many young Koreans K-pop is a desirable career choice and there are many academies like this one.
“They say at 17 you have a 50% chance of becoming a trainee. “It’s hard not to think about failure,” he says. There’s a huge gulf between the illusion and the reality of K-pop
0 kommentar(er)
