Behind the Curtain of Korean Entertainment

CW: Suicide, Mental Illness

“What did I do to deserve this?”

These were K-pop star Sulli’s chilling last words before she died by suicide last year.

As an empowering female figure who openly discussed controversial social issues, Sulli had defied the norms of Korea’s patriarchal society and the pristine idol “image.” She fearlessly went out without a bra (counter to the conservative culture of Korea) and raised awareness for taboo topics like mental health, but in return, she received years of undeserved cyber-bullying. A mere month later, Sulli’s close friend and fellow K-pop idol Goo Hara also committed suicide due to public backlash over a sex tape filmed without her consent. The ruthless pressure of the Korean entertainment industry has also driven male celebrities like Lee Seo-hyun, Park Yong-ha, and Kim Jong-hyun to take their own lives as well.

To many global fans and K-netizens alike, the deaths of Sulli and other stars were shocking- freak accidents, outliers, a far cry from the utopian world of aegyo and flawless visuals that we know as K-pop. While we often view Korea through the lens of a 4K fancam, the reality is a nation plagued by gendered violence and sexism. If anything, Korean society’s patriarchal norms are most embedded and perpetuated right behind the curtain of the entertainment industry.

Behind the Curtain: What it Takes to Be an Idol

Entertainment agencies force idol hopefuls, known as trainees, to sign away their personal and economic rights under the promises of fame, fortune and the road to their dreams. Trainees are forbidden from dating, contacting their family and friends, and “ruining” their appearances as they undergo strenuous periods of preparation for success that may not even be attainable. The reasoning? According to agencies, just as customers wouldn’t buy a product if it was defective or had already been passed around among many others, fans wouldn’t invest in idols if they were not single or physically desirable. Thus, the dating ban and appearance management are designed so that idols always appear available to their fans of the opposite sex. For example, in 2018, when the idols HyunA and E’Dawn revealed their relationship, their contracts were promptly terminated by their agency (Cube Entertainment). For idols who fail to meet the conditions demanded from their agencies, the consequences are grave. Weight gain is punished with crash dieting and excess workouts, tattoos are suffocated under kilograms of concealer, and skin tones are whitewashed through excessive editing.

Given that agencies’ abuse of power is frighteningly common, why have entertainers done nothing to fight back? Due to “slave contracts,” they lack the power to do so. As soon as trainees begin training, they accrue debt to the company. Once trainees debut, their agencies absorb all profits from sales, promotions, and tours as repayment for residence, training, and media costs. Idols receive absolutely no compensation until they reach the debt breakeven point, and to make matters worse, their contracts prohibit them from seeking part-time employment on the side. In the event of premature contract termination, companies demand immediate payment for any remaining debt. For many trainees, termination carries a lifelong price. They are forced into crippling debt and often homelessness. For trainees who do make the cut, their situation is no better. They often face physical and sexual abuse from their agencies and agency-condoned “sponsors”- older, wealthy individuals who invest in trainees who catch their eye in exchange for sexual favors.

On PD Notebook, a male trainee revealed that his agency had introduced him to a female sponsor, who offered him periodic “allowances” of as much as $930 USD or $1,117,478 KRW. Eventually, the sponsor pounced; she requested that the male trainee come to her house, and when he declined, she demanded reimbursement. In total, she had given the trainee almost 32 million won. When asked why he accepted the money in the first place, the trainee explained that he had struggled to make ends meet.

This coercion is the foundation of an industry that routinely recruits children as young as twelve. Aware that trainees cannot afford the legal fees to hold them accountable, agencies freely abuse them. The trainees, desperate for a way out, accept sponsors’ offers. Unfortunately, like the aforementioned male trainee, many simply end up with more debt than before.

Though exploitation and sexual harassment pervade the entire industry, female entertainers are disproportionately targeted. According to a 2010 survey by the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, two-thirds of Korean actresses reported that they had been forced to provide sexual services to sponsors. This is the script written by the government and the media, and it is fed through performance to Korean society. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (MOGEF) is an ultra-conservative government entity that oversees all cultural content, controlling lyrics, choreographies, and even artists’ clothing. MOGEF actively promotes sexist double standards; bare stomachs are taboo for female idols yet encouraged for males. When the curtain rises, music videos and popular broadcasting shows like Inkigayo use camera techniques to expose idols’ body parts to the audience.

For female artists, sexualization is not only a matter of making money, but also an expectation. As UCLA researcher Daisy Kim explains, female artists are manufactured to be “doll-like, sexy-but-not-sexual, flawlessly feminine and pubescent types of sexuality that meets the demands of a patriarchal society.”

These demands are definitely alive and well; just watch any girl group stage.

Usually the idols are teenagers, and if not, they are designed to look that way, retaining a deeply disturbing youth despite the passing years. Decked in berets, frills, and pastel pink, they flash pearly smiles at the audience, and in return, they are met with a thunderous roar. Listen closely, and you’ll realize the audience members are chanting the idols’ names… in alarmingly deep voices.

Samcheon, or “uncle” fans, are a subset of girl groups’ male fans who are often over the age of 30. While entertainment and music may be universally enjoyed, age is not so much the issue as the attachment of a familial connotation. Some uncle fans do exactly what their title suggests, supporting the girls out of some sense of fatherly pride. Others, however, use the name to mask the pedophilic sexual stimulation they experience while watching the teenagers in short-shorts and miniskirts. Unfortunately, it is impossible to distinguish the two when they are pressed together in a crowd, chanting in unison, and without distinction, it is impossible to hold the pedophilic fans accountable. To entertainment agencies, pedophilia is nothing more than a great marketing strategy. Because samcheon fans are older, they typically have more money to spend on merchandise, fan meetings, tours, and of course, sponsorship.

The treatment of female entertainment stars is symptomatic of the treatment of women in Korean society as a whole. Over 50 percent of homicide victims in Korea are female. Sexual harassment and assault are widespread, but victims are silenced by stigma, tropes about victims’ complicity in their own assaults, and defamation lawsuits. According to the Economist, South Korea ranks last on the glass-ceiling index and has one of the largest gender pay gaps in the world. As Seoul columnist Mano Lee writes, “A lot of Korean women can relate to the issues that female celebrities deal with. They have experienced it themselves…[M]any feel unsafe due to the pervasiveness of molka, gender-based violence and victim-shaming.” Molka, the practice of illicitly filming women, is alarmingly common, with about 6,800 reported cases in 2018. Jung Joon-young, a male Korean artist, was recently convicted of distributing sex videos, revenge porn, and molka. Based on the aforementioned statistics, this crime was more than believable, but it came as a shock to K-netz and global fans alike.

The reality is that fans only know idols as finished products. Scroll through K-pop stan Twitter, and you’ll find that fans often refer to their favorite male idols as “babies” and “kings.” The idols are like gods: untouchable and flawless. Whereas female idols’ careers have been ruined by infractions as simple as dating, male idols have bounced back from drug and gambling charges. Although Joon-Young’s crime was believable, nobody likes to hear that their gods are flawed.

How Media Reflects and Reinforces Harmful Cultural Norms

The threshold for retribution is much higher for male idols because their behaviors are often excused by stereotypes of masculine power and rashness. Whether in the form of female hypersexualization or toxic masculinity, gendered expectations produce material harms. When Kim Jong-hyun died by suicide, he wrote in his final note, “I am damaged from the inside. The depression that has been slowly eating away at me has completely swallowed me, and I couldn’t win over it. I hated myself. I tried to hold on to breaking memories and yelled at myself to get a grip, but there was no answer.” Jong-hyun had bottled up his emotions because they did not fit the image that South Korea expected of a strong, “perfect” man.

The pressure broke him.

As neurologist Ryu Sang-ho explains, “The blame lies with South Korean society in general. Many people with mental health issues are reluctant to take medication for fear of being seen as weak-minded.” According to a 2019 report by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, almost half a million South Koreans suffer from schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression. Among them, 330,000 lack access to any form of clinical treatment. In a 2017 study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, South Korea had the highest suicide rate among member countries.

Aside from the stigma surrounding treatment, the prevalence of mental health issues in South Korea has been linked to culture expectations of overwork and perfection. These factors are often compounded by stressors unique to the entertainment industry. Before idols even reach high school, they are placed under intense public scrutiny.

Online, everything from hand movements to stray hairs may be subject to critique. Sasaeng fans virtually and physically stalk the idols, and antis pose as fans to stir up controversy. Thus, it is imperative that idols maintain a perfect image.

In Korea, which is largely conservative and ethnically homogeneous, perfection is defined by racial “purity” and heteronormativity. Minorities are often employed as “fan-service” to satisfy exoticized, hypersexual fantasies. Queerbaiting is the only acceptable form of LGBTQ+ content; the forbidden appeal of homo-romantic content is used to bolster heteronormativity. Off-stage, coming out is enough to end a star’s career. Following job loss, there have been several cases of LGBTQ+ celebrities who took their own lives. As for ethnic minorities, Korea is still a highly homogeneous society, and its nationalistic sentiments are reflected in its entertainment industry. Foreign artists from China and Japan are often met with discrimination, although a few, such as EXO’s Lay and I.O.I.’s Pinky, have eventually had their talents recognized. For non-Asian minorities, the obstacle of nationalism is compounded by racism. When Alex Reid was announced as a member of RaNia, the group garnered widespread attention for featuring the first black female in a K-pop girl group. However, it soon became apparent that the agency was more interested in her race as a marketing ploy than her talent as an individual. She was provided incorrect visas, given outfits that did not match the other members’, intentionally sidelined in choreographies, and removed from her leader position. After fans boycotted RaNia for Alex’s mistreatment, the agency announced that Alex had been removed from the group.

Some multiracial black Korean entertainers, like R&B artist Insooni and Survival Audition K-pop Star’s Michelle Lee, have found success. However, it is a legitimate concern that their race is merely being exoticized as a “product” feature, as there is a sharp contrast between the adoration that they receive as multiracial celebrities and the discrimination that thousands of other multiracial Koreans endure. In schools and workplaces, they have been pressured to hide their identities just to be accepted by their peers.

Ironically, while Korean entertainment reinforces the colorist standards that normalize skin-bleaching creams, the industry has infamously appropriated black culture and exoticized dark skin. Super Junior’s Shindong, girl group Mamamoo, and disbanded group Bubble Sisters are just a few of the many Korean entertainers over the years who have done blackface. ATEEZ’s Hongjoong and Blackpink’s Lisa were recently criticized for performing in cornrows and box braids, respectively. Many of these stars have since apologized for their actions, but it is clear from the K-pop industry’s actions that entertainers, agencies, and stylists still have a long way to go.

When idols debut, they are assigned an archetype. For idols with darker skin, their role is already set: the sexy one. Dark-skinned Hyorin and Bora led the sexy concept group Sistar, Girls’ Generation’s Yuri was provocatively billed as the “Black Pearl,” and EXO’s Kai told interviewers that his agency designated him the “member in charge of sexiness.” Given the Korean entertainment’s ever-expanding global reach through K-dramas and K-pop, the conflation of dark skin with sexiness also reinforces issues in Western countries like the hypersexualization of blackness and the adultification of black youth.

Deconstructing the Idol

“There’s nothing more frightening than K-pop stans.”

Though it is often said jokingly, there is quite a bit of truth to this claim. When black fans have spoken out about racism in K-pop, they have been deemed fake fans and harassed with slurs: the N-word, gorilla, roach, and more. Fans are quick to defend their “gods”- the idols they worship - but oftentimes, they are just as quick in their criticisms. Behind the mask of online anonymity, it’s much easier to disseminate hateful vitriol. The perpetrator faces neither appropriate consequences nor their victims.

Being human means making mistakes and growing from them. We should call idols out when they engage in problematic behaviors, precisely because we appreciate them. Products don’t have the potential to change, but people do. We should acknowledge that idols are not finished products; they are human beings, and to be human is to be breakable.

The idolization of idols has to go, for the good of both the entertainers and society. Sulli, Jong-hyun, Goo Hara, Lee Seo-hyun, and Park Yong-ha: how many more idols must we lose before we wake up to the fact that our “gods” are human too?

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