Taeil and Kpop's Troubling Trend
A few months ago, I wrote about the BBC documentary detailing the events of the Burning Sun scandal. In that newsletter I placed emphasis on the fact that the fabricated public personas of these idols aided in their abuse of their victims, many of which were fans. Originally I had planned to never revisit this topic because to be honest, it’s a really unpleasant topic to cover. As someone who was taken in by the Hallyu wave and has appreciated much of Korean culture, it’s uncomfortable thinking about my own culpability as a fan of such a corrupt industry. That being said, until the larger the problem of predation in the industry is addressed, we need to speak up about it.
‘NCT’ is a SM Entertainment boy group consisting of over 20 members. These members are shuffled in and out of project releases under temporary group ‘NCT U’, as well as placed into fixed subgroups. Of these, Taeil was a permanent member of ‘NCT 127’, arguably the most popular NCT subgroup. This means that since 2016, Taeil has been one of the most famous people in the entire country with multiple tours and releases under his belt. For most in this position, this is a great achievement to be proud of but for predatory men, it is an opportunity. Especially, when success leads to perks that less successful idols don’t get to experience.
Kpop idols are heavily supervised in their early years, with the company dictating everything down to the clothes they wear. If they gain popularity, they are offered the opportunity to live on their own and manage their own schedules. While this is generally a good thing (I have my share of issues with the trainee/dorm system), these idols are unleashed into the world with very little world experience, interaction with their peers outside of the industry, or supervision. They also likely don’t have a concept of ‘no’ aside from guidelines set from by company, an insane amount of money (if they are as successful as NCT), and are surrounded by adoring fans who believe you can do no wrong. Not to mention that due to the fast-paced nature of the trainee system, there has been no time for meaningful intervention when troubling behaviors reveal themselves. This is an obvious recipe for disaster and it is baffling that no company seems to realize this. The only thing that would surprise me now is if no more idols are revealed to be predators in this way.
The breaking of this news and it’s handling also don’t surprise me. SM has a long history of covering up allegations and defending their male artists no matter what. However in what seems like a reversal, they announced the allegations against Taeil and his removal the group simultaneously and before any Korean publications. Many lauded this as SM finally being proactive about a situation like this but it’s clear this is an act of “getting ahead” of the news. For one, the obvious lack of promotion of Taeil in the weeks leading up announcement lets me know they’ve known for a while. Fans have pointed out that the official accounts were not reposting his content as they would with their other artists. According to their own statement, Taeil has been “accused in a criminal case related to a sexual crime”, which means that he has been charged and that an investigation has likely been going on for weeks if not months. That’s a long time to keep people in the dark. Additionally, they haven’t fully terminated his contract but opted to remove him from the group. This tells me that even in the face of a situation like this, they prioritize money over all else as terminating his contract now would mean they would have to go to court. So it’s evident that as of now, the plan is to keep him as an artist until his contract naturally runs out. That doesn’t inspire confidence about how carefully they handle situations like this.
I’d also like to shed light on the current climate in South Korea as this news is breaking. On twitter, many South Korean women are mobilizing to shed light on chatrooms that have been uncovered in which men are sharing explicit A.I. images of family and friends en masse. There are claims that these chatrooms combined contain over 200,000 men with speculation that government officials may be involved. I myself have read an overwhelming number of cases of the abuse they’re experienced and the lengths their family members have gone to cover it up. There is a serious undercurrent of misogyny and anti-women sentiment that has seeped into the culture. Why then are we shocked when it shows up among the most famous and powerful members of their society.
As a Black, first gen, American woman, it may seem as if I don’t have a lot of stake in the goings-on in an country thousands of miles from me. Why do I care to read testimonies and statements in language I don’t understand and empathize with women I will never meet? Well the answer is buy in. I have bought into and promoted so much of their culture. The soft power has really worked on me. I believe that consumption comes with a responsibility to myself to make sure I’m not uplifting dangerous people and turning a blind eye in favor of my own enjoyment. I don’t think it’s healthy or enjoyable to try and participate in a culture in a vacuum so as long as this situation persists, I hope to keep shedding light on this. In the meantime I think a good lesson to take away is that you really don’t know any of these idols and they can be prone to the same troubling behavior we see in our everyday lives.
It's truely horrifying the news coming out of s.korea of how these men (and society as whole) are treating their women. That and the cases of violence against women in India, Sudan, Palestine and the many more we don't hear about.