Opinion: The K-pop sex scandal is just the beginning
Lee Seung-hyun, also known as Seungri of the K-pop boy band Big Bang, is surrounded by reporters as he enters the Metropolitan Police Agency in Seoul, South Korea, on March 14. By Haeryun Kang March 19 at 1:59 PM Haeryun Kang is a freelance journalist in Seoul and the former managing editor of media startup Korea Exposé.Lee Seung-hyun, popularly known as Seungri, was generally thought to be a nice guy.
When #MeToo brought down a handful of powerful men in South Korea last year, I thought it signaled a watershed moment. In the same year, when tens of thousands of women protested for months, condemning the consumption of spycam footage as porn, I thought we had finally arrived at some promise of positive change — at least in terms of public awareness — for women’s bodies and their safety.
So, what makes this scandal any different? This isn’t just cynicism. What we see in the headlines is only the tip of the iceberg. These stories don’t capture the pervasive power inequality between men and women in countless, unseen sectors of Korean society. To make matters worse, the industry has a history of allowing powerful men to get away with misogyny — and worse. This isn’t even an isolated case for Jung, who is accused of filming up to 10 women in the past. Another example of this pervasive culture is the Ongdalsaem scandal in 2015, when three popular male comedians came under fire for making sexist comments in a podcast — including suggesting that women are “stupid” and that they “can’t stand women who aren’t virgins.
In the chaotic maze of a complex and sordid story, where facts mix with rumors, some fans are siding with the male stars. To them, I say: Remember the victims of spycam porn, which overturns women’s lives. Nearly half of spycam victims thought of committing suicide, according to a recent survey by the Korea Women’s Development Institute.
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