I worked as a fashion model and actress in Korea for 5 years. The issues I - and THOUSANDS of other actors and talent faced, not just me - is ENOURMOUS and yes, it IS life threatening. I had to literally escape the country just a few months ago. I was homeless the entire time, even though I was talented and worked on many good, well-paying projects, worked 16-20 hours a day trying to find work when I wasn't on set for 30 hours, and would have been paid a livable salary if foreign casting agencies would have actually paid me. I had people who often helped me out with money or food, too. I was hospitalized twice for manutrition and overworking my body, and I still couldn't buy a single meal most of that time. What Garrison said is 100% true; they almost always take 80 - 90% of your payment and because they forge your signatures on the contracts, and you never see that contract or know it exists - you won't even know it. The agencies who sponosor E-6 visas work together. It's quite literally organized crime, a mafia, and YES, if you ask questions or ask for your contracts (which are always required for every set, ask any Korean talent) you will be blacklisted. I agree with Kelly; I no longer support the E-6 visa and strongly advise against anyone getting one. I can promise you, you will regret it. You can't 'beat the system.' Not to mention that the agencies often sell their female talent in a se-x trafficking ring. They beat you down, make it so you are completely alone, desperate and don't know what is really going on, then suddenly you start getting strange men trying to pay you to sleep with them, or other dangerous situations I won't get into here. Some of these problems exist for the Korean talent as well, such as issues with se-x trafficking, under pay and terrible agent contracts, but that exists in every place and every industry- Hollywood is full of such predatory agencies - so a smart Korean talent can avoid these issues and also legally seek compensation or justice. All of my Korean friends who are talents are doing fairly well for themselves, even if they aren't extremely rich or famous or whatever else. If they see an issue, they can easily avoid it or chose not to work with that agent. However, there is no hope for forigners to do the same. DO NOT go to Korea to work as talent, and if you are in Korea and considering getting and E-6 visa, DO NOT DO IT. Again, you can not beat the system. I spoke with several lawyers in Korea about what was going on and they couldn't believe it - they told me that only with a team of 10+ lawyers and a couple hundred people on board, could they even figure out how to help punish these criminals because it is such a complicated web. We have tried and thankfully, we are getting the word out there, but change is a long, long way to come. To put it into perspective, I earned about 5,000 USD total my entire time in Korea. Yes, the entire 5 years I lived there - I only earned about 5,000 USD.
R Jeanne, This was painful for me to read. I appreciate you sharing such a personal and painful part of your past this way. It's upsetting that you endured such a scary, damaging quality of life for so long. I wish you could have received adequate support back then (though I'm relieved you received "some"), and I'm sorry to learn that nothing more substantial was available to you. I hope that wherever you are now, you feel happy and fulfilled. I hope you're healthy and can look back and find meaning apart from your hardship and pain, as that's a great deal of time, and we can't "have time back." The very act of sharing experience is significant and generous. Thank you. Wishing you health, happiness, and inspiration wherever you are in this big/small world
@@K-newborn wherever I could. Sometimes I got to stay at someone's house for a week or two but lots of times I was on the streets. Parks and subway atations. Sometimes I could afford a goshiwon for a month but that was only twice :(
@@K-newborn ah I would recommend looking into planned traveling, there are lots of places and things you can do to stay safe that a person in my position can't. Its not really the same thing.
It’s also in journalism as well. I wrote and article and sent it to the editor of the Korean times regarding tourism and English towns in Jeju. It was a well researched piece. I got an email back from the editor saying that they couldn’t use it. Two months later when English towns became national news, my article was published under some Korean writers name. I wrote to the editor saying it was plagiarism and was told to shut up or people would visit me to shut me up. I then went to the lawyer and filed a lawsuit against them. But the courts threw it out. After that I got a visit from some local thugs who thought they could intimidate me. Both short and fat so I wasn’t. I continued to make noise, and then my boss from the education department called me in an threatened me that I would lose my job if I continued to make noise. I did the midnight run that night and left Korea. The people of Korea are the biggest racists I have ever met and the way they deal with foreign residents is disgusting. Don’t bother going there. The Korean times doing this series are a bunch of hypocrites, pretending to care about foreign talent. What more than likely happened is that word has got out and they are trying to do damage control
Ooof. I agree, I am glad there is finally some reporting going on from Korea Times, but I had been trying to get word out for years with them. They also didn't talk about the truly dangerous and awful things, and interviewed people who actually did okay for themselves in Korea. I know the people personally and they were the few who actually made a smigeon of money and did okay. Its far worse than this reports and its.... you might be right about damage control. I love Korea but, I don't know if I can ever go back. It was so horrible. And I'm sorry your work was plagerized. I am not suprised the courts threw it out (this happened to me to when I tried to do something about various issues).
@@rjeanne4683 Wow! So what they show in their dramas abt prejudice & behind the scene maneuverings by the prosecution office isn't a joke after all? More so towards foreigners!
Your story doesn’t surprise me, though it certainly horrifies me. I have had a similar thing happen to me, and I've known of similar events when people stood firm in defiance as you did. What you did takes a great deal of courage. Most of the time, that kind of defiance doesn’t happen. I was once pressured (and to an extent, kinda blackmailed) into signing away my right to royalties over the televised ESL franchise I literally created, with minimal contribution from JEI. The script for Full Sentence English was initially given to me as “an idea we all hate and know will fail but our President and VP like it so we have to do it anyway” - and “No one has any real expectations of this succeeding so don’t worry.” I felt I had a good idea, and it was something I’d never seen done before. I was given license to rewrite the pilot initially and that led to me re-writing the entire show and changing the concept (but we kept the lame title). To this day, the franchise generates spin-offs. It was a monster amount of work - and work I chose to do because of my personal work ethic. By then, I’d interned at EBS as a writer and worked closely with a director for a few years who mentored me in ESL program production and it was the sort of challenge I'd hoped for. I also couldn’t stomach the idea of “doing crap work so knowingly”. I didn’t get any extra compensation, but that wasn’t the primary value I sought. To be fair, I fully expected to be appropriately credited at the time and our crew supported that notion because they were apparently as naive as I was. My actions required approval from their GM, and were no secret. That show launched a franchise, and that franchise became a best-selling program. I even idiotically fell for the GM pretending she was interested in hiring me again, and asking me to mock up new ideas - only to be painfully ghosted. 🙄It’s a complex game that is tricky to play because we all live in a state of compromise just to exist in it. On the one hand, it was pure joy creating and hosting the work. On the other, any refusal to let myself be screwed would’ve just invited them to find another (and possibly more damaging way) to shut me down and I knew it. This was about money. I had no leverage. I’ll never forget looking her staff in the eye as they handed me the documents and telling them, “K I know that you know I’m being screwed out of royalties I deserve here and I don’t believe you want to hurt me or have much real choice because your leadership sucks, but watching you try and lie about this makes me sick so how about I just tell you I don’t hold you responsible and we cut the shit?” One PD started crying that day and another was shaking and couldn't look at me. We enjoyed a good relationship on set and I could see they hated what they’d been commanded to do. They also knew I worked my ass off to make them look good. I was angry and hurt for a time, but ultimately, I know it was my work. I credited myself correctly on IMDB. It was still very painful, even though I knew it wasn't personal. This is how it is. I admire what you did and I’m horrified it led to the loss of your Korean life.
Regarding the team that made this, I must respectfully disagree, but I completely understand why you'd feel that way doubt "the entity that hired them". Anyone would. The Korea Times’ management didn’t initiate this work. This topic was submitted to the Korea Press Foundation as a proposal by a woman who partially grew up in America and takes special interest in the abuse of minorities and in women's issues. She did an exposé on expat rape that went viral. Teams can choose topics to propose, and in some cases, they can choose topics, but they answer to editors in the end. They shape their career through the types of content they pitch. Her editor approved the project after she secured that funding. To her credit, she endured (and was defiant of) a pretty crazy amount of hate mail over some of the segments in this project - notably the first because of the implications that certain business people in Busan felt it made. She spent a significant amount of her personal time trying to assist the couple portrayed in Segment 1 in getting out of the incredible mess they were in, and that is one of several reasons I will forever be grateful to her. She helped me circulate the GoFundMe I made for them using the Korea Times network (which I’m sad to say failed miserably). She spent 9 months preparing for this and encountered more than a few obstacles. Few journalists ever really wrap their heads around this topic as It’s complex, and there's a ton of history to it. This series was her brainchild, and it seemed to arise after she asked to do a short interview with me for a small piece that turned into a 4-hour discussion, after which she joined chat groups to start learning and asked for a lot of literature and information. I've worked with many writers in Korea, and this type of effort is exceptionally rare. The Korea Times is a gov't owned machine, but the people there shouldn’t be automatically condemned because of the crappy choices made by their management. I know I wouldn’t want to be held accountable for that while I wrote for them, and I once worked as a guest health columnist there. While nothing about your story surprises me, I believe wholeheartedly that the intentions of this team are sincere, and I was blown away by the work ethic of the lead PD's video production team. I was also extremely impressed by the respect they showed my members and myself, and I’m not easily impressed. This type of content can get painful and emotional, and she was incredibly patient and generous with me at times when I expect she was busy as hell. I am stunned we were given this opportunity and feel very grateful it was that team that led it.
@@rjeanne4683💓 I’d like to address your reply in depth, and I’m grateful you shared. This may not be apparent (and my guess is it isn't apparent at all based on other replies), but there are 3 other videos in this series and the first 2 involve some of the most heartbreaking situations I have known. We were somewhat limited due to the dynamic this gentleman's story illustrates well: if you resist exploitation, you're going to pay for it, and anonymity wasn’t an option we could offer participants. If you check out parts 1 and 2, I believe you'll agree they're compelling. I was asked to help find interviewees, and the task was difficult. Thanks to the prevalence of fear tactics, we largely lacked the luxury of choice. I Initially felt reluctance - it took me time to feel confident with the lead producer - who eventually gained my full trust or I assure you, I would not have participated as I did. I felt concerned anyhow due to the consequences participants potentially faced. I feel a degree of responsibility for my group members and appreciate that trust is put in me. That, and a few months earlier, I watched the awful BS that those who participated in DAKA’s press conference faced. Openly opposing a system you currently work in is no small feat -as you well know. I’m stunned we had the ability to create video 3. I'm also inspired by the bravery... Part 1 discussed 2 political refugees who ended up desperately leaving Korea for Qatar after checking every box possible and getting no where, and then (I recently learned) were screwed by their new employers 2 weeks into the job :( The Korea Times helped me circulate a gofundMe that wasn't very successful (but we are doing what we can to support them). The second is about a trafficked sex worker from The Philippines. Every writer and/or team at The Times is distinct. While I can only speak about what I experienced, I was blown away by the dedication I witnessed. PD Minyoung worked for 9 months to wrap her head around these issues. BTW, this is the link to the website housing all videos and related stats - www.koreatimes.co.kr/interactive/foreignartist and I think it should've been included in the description. They commissioned an external website to avoid political tension, specifically because the gov't owns The Korea times and the team had no wish to hold back. The media was not always an ally - in that, you're painfully correct. I recall the brutal fallout that Gloria Kim (our very first writer) faced by netizens. She even ended up being dragged into court by an agent (who lost). Frankly, I couldn't believe she came back for more or came to us wanting to write at all. She told me she had a foreign friend who shared their story, and she wanted to do something about it. She wrote at least 7 or 8 articles by the time she left her paper and seemed sincerely motivated by a desire to help bring awareness about these issues. She and the lead PD here are treasures, but Gloria Kim got the subject in the news enough to inspire JTBC to help elevate the issue's credibility, and it took her multiple articles to do it. Before her, we had no reason to expect anything from the media - and expat abuse isn't a popular topic in Korea. I'd never seriously considered pushing stories - the gov't owns the majority of papers and Ohmynews essentially told me to f*ck off. The media was no friend of ours until around late 2020 and the I credit the change to a unique individual whose motives I still don't fully understand but massively appreciate. This project has limitations - and I understand and share your frustration. Lives are incredibly nuanced. There's a great deal of my story that couldn't be told here. I know you know me in the context of our social media connection - and I am extremely grateful for knowing you. ^^ I intentionally try and leave a lot of "me" out of what I do in the group unless my experience is relevant to something someone is facing. I believe I enjoyed success, but I also endured some very ugly and dangerous things. We ended up excluding some of those experiences out of concern they may detract from the message. Consistency is strong - many of our experiences overlap. I spent my entire adult life in Korea, and I certainly wasn't always successful - that took time and work. My residency spanned 20 years, and the team had 10-15 min to cover data from 7 people. I've definitely had some very bleak years. I have a complex relationship with Korea, but love is part of it. To be real, I think part of my success was tied to timing. It was a much different environment when I started, and that's when I laid down roots. That was sheer luck. Despite it, I had some pretty awful shit happen to me. Finding people to participate in USA was challenging - especially since any actor in America who is part of SAG literally can't admit to taking work in Korea. Considering the obstacles, I think we were lucky. One gent even flew to LA on his own dime, and the incredible attitudes of everyone that participated overwhelmed me. I wasn’t expecting such generosity, nor did I expect organizations to take this as seriously as they did, and thank goodness because we couldn’t pay anyone for a thing. We did our best, and I did my best, but looking back, there are many things I would have done differently. This was a learning experience. I wish you could have joined us. It's wonderful having your contribution to this page, and you stand out in my memory as being both brave and extremely willing to try and help others. Knowing all you've endured, I am all the more moved that you found the energy to do that. Moved, grateful and humbled…this got long, but you possess unique context and insight, and you’re one of the people this was made for. We did our best to represent the struggles of others with what we were given. I hope I get another shot at it someday - I’ve learned a lot and there’s definitely room for improvement. Advocating for change in Korea is extremely worthy to me.💓
As someone who was working under a 3-year contract as an actor model in Seoul I am very happy to see this series about the conditions of work there for foreigners. I do hope that Korea will take it seriously and make the necessary changes to treat everybody fairly.
When you think about how they overwork and mistreat their own Korean entertainment,it probably won't happen for awhile and as SK and a few other countries are very image importance based Noone will speak up because it's expected to keep up face.
I was always surprised when idols said they worked nonstop on a set for like 18hrs or something absurd without sleeping. This explains a bit of why it's concerning when young idols join the industry.
I am aware that the Korean entertainment industry is toxic, but hearing them from people who experienced it as individuals is just eye opening. No wonder few of Korea stars are stressed and miserable.
You don’t hear this from Korean actors themselves out of fear of retaliation from their superiors. Not surprised to hear this, because as many know, many Korean actors have committed suicide.
That's incredibly grim to consider, but you're correct that Koreans know the consequences and accept the status quo, but they suffer from the nature of the industry and its norms. There are different types of Korean performers - different levels and different states of autonomy. Some are controlled by agents or media networks who register and represent them, some are pure freelance and some have deals with smaller managers. A VERY small number are fully independent - and that very thing is distinct enough for them to have fame among their peers for It as it means they control everything aspect of their career. I've only known one individual of this nature in my time in Korea. They were greatly admired for it, and for good reason. In fact, it literally became part of their branding. I peronsonally believe that reform would benefit most participants - and I know of several agents that share this sentiment. The next year will be interesting as we see 3 new "for profit" visas launched by the gov't and we advocate for inclusion in the new laws created for artist protection.
A huge thank you and credit to Kelly who works tirelessly to support fire nurse in Korea who end up being exploited and have nowhere to turn. Thank you for bringing this to light as you have been doing for years
I have this gut feeling that South Korea just treats foreigners so badly. Specially non-asian ones, but still treats the asian ones badly too, just less.
@@serenajourneys Yup. They look down on other Asians (SE Asians, South Asians, and Central Asians). In general, they're narrow-minded. But ironically, they go to my country to make a living. Korean in my country is the 13th-largest population of overseas Koreans according to South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2018 (around 78,676 persons). Maybe 80,000 - 100,000 Koreans in my country make a living this year.
@@fffw1826 Right? There are A LOT of koreans here in Brazil from a long time immigration wave. Still, if I go to South Korea some will give me a side eye 🤧
@@le96g Right. They're not immigrants but expatriates in my country. They will return to S.Korea after they're retired or after their job contracts end. TMI, Brazil, S. Korea and my country are G20 members.
After living in Korea for almost a year and a half, I have heard a lot. My husband is Korean and said people are scared to just give a something back that was lost because people are scared they will be accused of stealing it or stealing money out of a purse/wallet, etc. At his work, if something were to happen to someone, they would just be scared of getting in trouble, not about the safety of their workers. Also, I visited Korea a few years ago, before I knew my husband, and a girl I knew talked about how she could have gotten her employees at her English academy kicked out of the country and I talked to one of her ex-employees who talked about her experienced being constantly threatened by her before she finally left in the middle of the night, or "midnight run". 😬
@@썰프리 I think that's an interesting point, especially when I consider Korean horror movies - many of which are centered on just that (and very effective). It's troubling how many people seem inclined to jump to unhelpful and/or offensive generalizations in this discussion. That doesn't lead anywhere productive. Thanks for your input, and best wishes.
I appreciate your feelings and that the actions discussed in the videos are painful, but I believe it's human nature to want to emphasize the positive aspects of ourselves. It's uncomfortable for anyone to "talk about their dark sides." I hope people identify that this isn't a "black and white" matter and that this video doesn't discuss Korean culture. This is a crisis, but there are reasonable ways to improve what's happening, and in the meantime, prevention through media exposure is a step in the right direction. These discussions help spread awareness. :) Korea has plenty that is worth exploring and celebrating. As it is with all places, there are many different sides - and some are quite beautiful. Thanks for watching.
It sounds like you're just misinformed or didn't keep up with the news, Koreans call their country Hell Chosun or Hell Korea, implying they have so many social issues going on. They're also curious why foreigners come, do they not knowing every thing in Korea and only watch K drama and listen to K pop?(sounds like you right there) East Asian countries all have their problems with government, while Korea calls itself "Hell Korea", Taiwan calls themselves "Ghost Island", life for foreigners in Japan isn't easy too, white people or European looking people do have a privilege compare to other foreigners but it still limits you.
@@썰프리 Most? Most are absolutely not that. Some? Yes. But that is as much on TV or movie screens as the dramas are. Daily life is exactly as stated in the video. I have always laughed when I read articles about Korea being the financial hub of Asia and such. HOW? A foreigner can't even get a credit card. Well, you can, but it functions exactly like a debit card: The balance must be paid each month in full. Mind you, this is apparently against the law. Doesn't matter. Korea is not foreigner-friendly except on the surface, or if you make a LOT of money.
I think it is a great video. I must say however I think the issue of how foreigners get treated in Korea isn't only in the entertainment industry. In general being a foreigner in korea is really hard when you try to work and build a life. You often get ignored or mistreated at work but also outside of work. If you live outside of Seoul, things are a lot tougher too. I have lived her for over 3 years and have reached a point where I had enough and have decided to go back to my home country. I really hope that people that will come to Korea in the future will have a more realistic view of the country instead of some fantasy. Documentaries like this one are a real eye opener for anyone planning to come.
Facts. I'm really impressed this was made and they did a good job even if it feels like a lot got left out that shouldn't have. This was good work and I hope the effort to teach people about what's really happening keeps up. I agree that people live in fantasy land too much when they head to Seoul and that can be dangerous, especially if they're not prepared or really qualified to begin with and riding a dream. People need to make decisions with solid info, and this is accurate. So is what you wrote. Really encouraging to see this.
When I went to work in Korea I had heard horror stories of how foreign workers were treated, I refused to work at a hagwon, so I went for working in public schools, it can be hit or miss how you might be treated at work, I was lucky that all my colleagues were kind, but it was the contract that was most important, because working in a public school is a government job the contracts tend to be pretty solid, if we ever had a problem we always were to refer back to the contract.
Thank you Korea Times for starting to show these issues about Korea and not only the good things. This way not only the life and rights of foreigners but also of Koreans can improve. The first step of solving a peoblem is acknowledging it, sadly talking about negative things about your country or family is not very keen to Korean culture, but maybe there’s some change ahead and things can be improved.
I think you missed this : @SA-dx5sx It’s also in journalism as well. I wrote and article and sent it to the editor of the Korean times regarding tourism and English towns in Jeju. It was a well researched piece. I got an email back from the editor saying that they couldn’t use it. Two months later when English towns became national news, my article was published under some Korean writers name. I wrote to the editor saying it was plagiarism and was told to shut up or people would visit me to shut me up. I then went to the lawyer and filed a lawsuit against them. But the courts threw it out. After that I got a visit from some local thugs who thought they could intimidate me. Both short and fat so I wasn’t. I continued to make noise, and then my boss from the education department called me in an threatened me that I would lose my job if I continued to make noise. I did the midnight run that night and left Korea. The people of Korea are the biggest racists I have ever met and the way they deal with foreign residents is disgusting. Don’t bother going there. The Korean times doing this series are a bunch of hypocrites, pretending to care about foreign talent. What more than likely happened is that word has got out and they are trying to do damage control
Why I've never been too interested to go. As a southeast asian-american, i just feel the s.korean culture would just be toxic against me. I don't need that on a vacation....
problem is, unless you are a top tier actor/actress in the film industry in most countries, you have little to no bargaining power. That's why most actors/actresses don't whistleblow until after they have enough social capital where their words matter and have weight with the public. If you are essentially a cameo or a glorified extra, most people won't give you the time of day in Korea let alone Hollywood. I'm glad they're shedding light on this , but I don't think it will change anytime soon. Even in the ESL industry, there are less teachers who are willing to put up with bullshit, but most schools or hagwons refuse to change conditions, so basically schools would rather be without teachers for months than hire with better conditions in Korea. What does happen though is that teachers who wouldn't normally get hired due to being from a specific country or having a specific accent will get hired more often which is kind of of pro. But the problem is, foreign actors in Korea aren’t considered highly expendable since they are stars in any of their work.
I agree with most of what you said, but I also think this video doesn't show the reality. I know the people in the video personally and they generally did okay. But at the end, what you said about them not being considered expendable, I TOTALLY disagree with. My exeriance was that we were considered more expendable and the 'agents' didn't care less if we left or not. As long as they could exploit us as much as possible. I knew only one person who consistently could pay for a small apartment, as a model, and she was the only female senior model in Korea. So, she wasn't expendable. But everyone else is VERY expendable.
I'm Asian American. My family and I immigrated to the U.S. in 1979 when I was 11 years old. However, I still have the *ASIAN WORK ETHIC,* but the kind of *BE A MAN* approach by Asian supervisor and employers is unhealthy. There's a reason western countries have work place safety measures and laws in place. Employees should are not slaves.
If you let these employers run over you they will. When your body is worn out, and you can’t mobilize anymore your employer will kick you to the curb and find someone new. Bump that Junk! Take care of yourself and live❤
A very interesting documentary. Thanks to all those who took part in its production, and I hope Kelly, Garrison and the other actors featured are now leading peaceful and fulfilling lives.
This is a problem for Korean talents too so it's not surprising. Many Korean talent agencies take advantage of people in vulnerable situations (either due to being naive, lack of knowledge or language barrier), just look at all the idols and singers who were children and signed their life away to be stolen from and gaslit. A huge scandal just a few months back was a widely popular singer who believed he never made any money from his songs and was told he was a negative asset by his CEO. Talents are expected to work with 2-3 hours a sleep between filming at times, even at top levels. There are so many foreigners who consume entertainments based on fabricated worlds of Korean fantasy, almost to the point of fetishing it, that they decide to uproot their life and move to a country they don't really know about. Do your research people. Korea was a war-torn country risen from the ashes by policies set in place by a military dictatorship that relied on nationalism and uniformity. Of course there will be issues.
I think an important point here is that foriegners don't have rights in Korea, and they aren't able to make good choices. The industry is awful everywhere, but on E6, even if you learn your lesson and try to avoid exploitation, its impossible. Whereas a Korean national can learn and stay away from it. Although I do think corruption and exploitation is more prevalent in Korea all around for sure.
And this is just barely scratching the tip of the darkness in the entertainment industry. Wait till the sexual abuse of minors time bomb goes off, no one is ready for it.
I’m hoping that the girl group ‘new jeans’ is unscathed. Most or all of the girls are minors and one of their debut songs was called ‘Cookie’ and had many s:xual innuendos . Korean entertainment keeps getting younger and ageist.
Yes. This video doesn't even touch on it, but the agents also use their models for se.x trafficking. They get them desperate and then try to sell them off.
@@idongesitx1873 their CEO is a known creep... look at what past fans said on groups she worked with NCT dream, FX, etc. She also took the girls to have dinner with military men recently. One of them is still underage. They have definitely seen some things
Thank you - that's a great idea. We've had a lot of Korean language coverage during the past couple of years, and we felt celebratory about the notion of a multimedia English project that might act as a cautionary tale for the west. Still, I agree entirely that much may be lost by excluding Korean subtitles. I'll pass on that feedback. Happy new year, and thank you for your feedback!
Is there anything in Korea that is not corrupt? One of my dream was to visit the country at least once in my life but I don't want to go anymore. Edit: And now it turned out that The Korean Times is a f*cking hypocrite as well...
While this is the last episode of your exposé specifically on entertainers, I genuinely hope you expand your digital journalism project even further.WELL DONE!
Thanks so much for the support and encouragement! I agree - the video production team at The Korea Times is extremely talented. Lead Producer Minyoung Lee seems particularly interested in women's issues, expat issues, and stories that are often underrepresented. She's been a treasure for our community, and I'm a fan of her storytelling style. She secures the trust of those she works with admirably. I don't believe we could have pulled this off nearly as well had she not been so gifted in earning trust and so tenacious in learning about this highly complex issue - it's a tough issue to truly understand - a real mess. Ms. Lee spent about 9 months absorbing information before she booked flights - and she's a professional who never seems to run out of energy for her work. I would gladly welcome the opportunity to work with her and her team again. I suspect there will be more to come on this topic as the upcoming year will bring about controversial change, not least due to the introduction of 2 new visas, which you can read about here if interested. www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/culture/2022/12/135_341740.html?fbclid=IwAR2vmZE2Ypr8G94h0h5bbdiktsq_PYnMWtLK5HFCOGmN-9KdCSWITJqktIo There've been mixed reactions, and it's tough for us to know what types of changes these might inspire. Regardless, I feel that change is a good thing for us now, and I look forward to seeing how things unfold. Happy new year, and thanks again for the feedback and positivity!
It sounds like torture, but the norm to Korean entertainment. Motherhood can be grueling and exhausting, looking after your kids around the clock and throughout the night, but the rewards are different. The only time in my life I was able to stay awake for 48 hours was when my husband had covid, but instinct kicked in. It's abuse, honestly. Although South Korea is such a technologically developed country, there is a lot of room for improvement concerning human rights and work ethics. Korea has a lot of beautiful people and a lot of talent. No person can work for 20 hours per day. You'd burn out or drop dead from exhaustion if you lived like that.
The dictatorship of agencies in Korea is quite astonishing! They are more famous than their own actors and singers. I've followed Super Junior since 2007. They are the kind of artists that should have accumulated a lot of money. Each one of them. But when you see their houses, it is nothing like I imagined. Maybe because I have the imaginary of Brazil. Brazilian artists at the same level as them will always have really fancy luxurious places like mansions, penthouses... Agents here are really important but we, as fans, barely know they exist. We all know they are part of the whole system but they are not famous. Actually, some artists open their own agency and will manage themselves their own careers like Anitta does. The idea that an agent would get 90% cut of the income is just surreal. In Korea, right now, if you really pay attention to how the entertainment business works, it is pretty much like the golden era of Hollywood when the big studios controlled everything even the way actors would live, what would be their image to the public.
Super Junior is under SM, an agency notorious for signing kids under long contract with renewal option already in place. The profit sharing % under SM has always been high for SM and low for talent (and they have to share among members). I don’t think it’s any different for its new idols.
actually Heechul and many other members own very expensive and big apartments in Gangnam. Its not possible to build penthouses or mansions there since Seoul is densely populated not because they cant afford it. Even BTS and Blackpink they live in apartments
@@sourcr7 Sure, they all have great houses and apartments. Heechul has a US$ 4,2 MI flat. His net worth is around US$ 20 MI. He is known all around the world. Super Junior with others 2nd gen groups led the Korean wave. With products and concerts being sold internationally. But have you ever heard of Gusttavo Lima? He is one of the most famous Brazilian singers. He is not known outside Brazil since he is from a genre that only has success in Brazil called Sertanejo. It is equivalent of Country from US. His net worth is over US$ 200 MI. Back to K Pop. In 2022, Jaejoong was the 2nd richest Kpop idol. His fortune was around US$ 70 Mi. 3rd was Psy with US$ 65 Mi. Guess the 1st? JYP with much over 3 times Jaejoong. US$ 250 Mi! He owns the agency.
The house thing doesn’t mean anything considering many of the areas these idols would live don’t have the space to build huge sprawling apartments. Even when the do move out to the countryside where you could build huge places Koreans seem to like to build vertically vs. horizontally. Internet net worth estimates are also wildly inaccurate. That being said kpop agencies do have skewed profit sharing ratios
You all need to do a better job of outreach into areas of the Korean entertainment industry about these issues as well. For instance there are currently tens of thousands or possibly even hundreds of thousands of young and older people who want to move to Korea to be closer to or even involved in the Idol scene and the number of nightmare cases that I have heard of is incredible. There are predatory agencies in Korea which exist solely for the purpose of grooming young kids to be turned out into the porn Scene and prostitution as well. Many of these kids are foreigners who have no idea, nor do their parents have any understanding of the implications of the contracts which they are signing. They also don't understand the ramifications of failure to adhere to those contracts can be both civil as well as criminal. It is a national disgrace for Korea to allow these things to continue and Korea should well be aware that the fame they have attained through the Hallyu concept can also turn very ugly if these types of abuses continue and go unaddressed by the Legislators and Courts. Equal and fair treatment for all foreign entertainment personnel should be the hall mark of the Korean entertainment industry rather than the exception.
In all honesty I really doubt that Korea has even the desire to squelch the corruption in the industry. The influx of money from the idol worshippers and the bribe money is all too good for too many people. As long as they can just showcase a bad guy every now and then they can keep on pretending all is well - nothing to hide. Foreigners really DO need to do MUCH more in outreach and to raising awareness big time. It has to come from the foreigners somehow. The other issue is there are so many now flocking to Korea for idol wannabees. These newbies on the scene really don't care about being exploited. So there are way too many "fish in the sea" for the corrupt entities to choose from and this enables an endless cycle of ongoing corruption and exploitation.
yes. Yes yes yes. I am so worried about the new 'Hallu' visa that targets young people. What made me decide to leave Korea is when I found out that there isn't any way to not be exploited. The agentcies are a mafia that control everything. I found out because a Korean guy wanted me to sign to his Korean company as his actor, and we couldn't make it happen- I got the information on HOW visas are sponsored and realized its all been done illegally. Agents are forging immigration documents.
If you are Vietnamese, always remember, that Vietnam is much more interesting then Korea. I have never met so many creative people anywhere. Vietnam will soon become the same number one trend as South Korea (I'm not Vietnamese)
It always surprises me how each profession talks about its own issues, while not realizing that beyond specifics of each job, it's the same problem for everyone, even outside of artistic lines of work : nothing forces your bosses to treat you right unless the laws of the country, or unions forces him too. That's what strikes are for. So unionize, go on strike, regroup with others. I garanty a union including actors, directors, and technicians will be stronger and get more bargaining power than 1 union for each job. In any case, what I agree on is that artistic profession get more screwed than "boring" ones because recruiters have an endless list of people dreaming to take your job. So do everything in your power to organize yourself, it's the only way.
They didn't mention it (I don't think), but it's actually illegal for foriegners to unionize in Korea. I spent a year there and that was one of the first things i asked about.
This also might explain why some Korean actors/singers do movies or join pop groups in China. It's sad that China seems to be treating Korean talent better than Korea does...
@@ellenmcdaniel1550 that's a whole different problem actually. The way contracts and work visas, specially the one mentioned here are made, makes it difficult for some foreigners in the entertainment industry to work in Korea, and even though some contracts makes artists earn less than they should, or makes them work more in general for both foreigners and Korean people, the reason why many Korean trainees decide to go to China to debut is because the standards are way lower to do so, and have more chances of debuting abroad. Cpop and Kpop requires artists different things in order to debut. Cpop is like Jpop in this sense, the public enjoys seeing the growth of their idols, in Kpop we expect the idols who debut to be impecable already, you can tell the difference just by watching the tv shows that makes trainees contest to debut. If you compare Chinese or Japanese with Korea competition programs you can tell the gap between the trainees and how each of them focus in different aspects. A clear example is boy's planets or produce 101. Chinese and Japanese trainees focus on different areas, like charisma, and even though they do practice singing and dancing it's a bit different ad more calm focus, Koreans target vocals and dance moves. Not to mention that it's starting to be a trend to debut more and more younger idols in Sk, so it'd be harder for a trainee in their 20's to debut in Sk while it's not seeing bad to have a bit "older" trainees in China and Japan
I’m glad that SK is losing its relevance, slowly going out of trends. Isn't there too much talk about Korea.. Korea is everywhere. There are so many interesting countries, with talented designers, singers, unusual culture, cinema, fashion .. But Korea overshadows the talents of other countries and always climbs ahead. But people are so blinded by Korean culture that they elevate the country to the rank of a deity, not noticing the endless horror that is happening in Korea.
I don't think they're losing their relevance at all. I sometimes wish that was true when I think about the things going on that I know of, and not just bc of this video. I actually think they're gaining relevance, at least for entertainment. I hope things get better, anyhow :( I agree there's a lot of talent there, and that makes it all so much more tragic. Lots of potential for sure. Really hoping for the best for all involved, Koreans or otherwise...
@@kenna-nw4fs just recently read a release that said 100 most popular male stars are being organized for introductions to entertainment industry movers and shakers across the world. For the purpose of bringing more investment money and foreign talent to Korean ent industry and to get more roles and jobs in foreign markets for Korean stars and film makers. They may be in for a surprise! If successful, maybe things will change for the better in Korea.
i just hope they will improve the human rights in the industry and yes support other countries too esp your country... Right now I'm so happy our OPM or original Pinoy music is gaining so much hype and attention we aim for global success too🥺🇵🇭 I love the African industry too so I'm interested in the music factor.. Thanks to Tyla 🩷
This simply reinforces the many stories I've watched, heard and read about the toxic culture of Korean entertainment industry. Every time I looked at any actors or Kpop idols, I always wonder what these people had gone through to be where they are right now. I assume they must had gone through some exploitation, abuse or something.
Sadly, I feel like this is probably the reality for most actors in Korea and not just for foreigners. I've heard time and time again that work culture in Korea is very problematic and many of my Korean friends choose not to live in Korea for this reason even though they love everything else about Korea.
I lived by Los Angeles Koreatown for 30 years. I grocery shopped there, did my hair there, took kpop dance lessons there, had korean doctors there. One of my best friends for 20+ years is Korean. I asked korean people I know why they came and if they wanted to move back (I was planning to move back to my country after I retire). They told me the same; lack of fairness, personal freedom, choice, and safety. They are happy to be Americans.
@@33Jenesis Yes. When you visit Korea, you'll notice everything is super efficient and advanced. It's a super nice place to live. The price for that is paid by all the working professionals slaving away at relatively low wages.
I keep commenting this, but something important to remember for forigners specifically is that they have no rights. They can't get help or work a second job, and even if they try they can't avoid being exploited to the max on the E6 visa. At least Koreans can unionize, work a secomd job if they need. I agree its bad for Koreans too, but its more extreme and terrifyingly bad for forigners.
It looks like the golden rules that Korea should had remembered is not to offend those whose services in whatever capacity from investment towards projects to the foreign cast/crew in the entertainment industry is not being followed. Exploiting the foreign cast/crew/investors is bad business & that gets around to other countries entertainment industry leaders.
I was in internet/print ads and billboards from 2009 to 2015 in South Korea, and I was always paid. The agent didn't want to pay, but I very gently reminded him he was a tiny man in a high-rise office, if he fell, who's to say he didn't jump from stress 😉
Is hard to connect with anything in Korea,you will always be an outsider, not that you want to be an insider,but just a sense of belonging,but it doesn't exist,and working mentality is different,they never tell you anything on the work flow, communication different.
Really relevant and powerful to see this, especially in light of the fact that I'm not sure it's only Korea that this problem exists, but recently Noa Turushima it was reported on another youtube channel was denied an Intimacy Coordinator by the director of a recent film she is in. There seems an idea that people are just objects, devoid of feelings, devoid of souls, of compassion, of rights even, to be moved by the societal machinery wherever and however it sees fit. I think this is a highly relevant subject to bring to mass world conscious awareness, because if it isn't how do we grow as a world community and expand? It touches on so many levels the fabric of what it means to be a human being, a living being, and its basis it is a question of our inherent value, how much do we value ourselves versus the system, in other words it speaks to the human being's inherent worthiness---intensely relevant, intensely powerful, and insightful. Thank you.
We believe that the scenes of abusive acts by the upper social classes towards workers are extreme dramatizations of kdramas, but at the end of the day, these are common practice in all sectors of Korean society.
I've been a member of SAG-AFTRA here in the US for 47 years (yes, I'm old) and they've gone to bat for me many times when I had an issue on a shoot or a contract. I don't think I would have pursued this career without having that union behind me.
@youknowkbbaby SEA. Basically the industry treating people abhorrently is quite common. The workers usually have no power. A political activist was even allegedly poisoned upon going to study about worker’s union in Europe.
Ngl worker rights in Korea are bad, it is a systemic problem. Child labour, unpaid overtime…etc etc. Thank you for raising more awareness to the international community.
In order to attract talents from all over the world and keep the entertainment industry active and thriving, putting in place all the reasonable system and regulations and improving the work environment in general would be an important thing, it seems.
I agree. I share our Korean political operative’s view (shown toward the end) that appropriate regulation would ultimately benefit ALL parties, and help Korea realize it’s immense creative potential. The govt clearly recognizes the potential gains of diversity as it’s announced at least one new “for-profit visa” with the intent of providing visitors with exposure to the arts for training purposes. I believe inclusion is a great thing in art, specifically - not to mention the practicality of it. While AI may well become a common “go to” in producing audio for devices which utilize multiple languages, artistic diversity and inclusiveness allows artists to grow in exciting, unpredictable ways. Its often a game changer. I find it awesome that people are inspired to be part of the art scene in Korea and sincerely hope to see steps taken that lead to healthier outcomes for expats. Profit is an undeniable incentive, but in order for an industry to be sustainable and worthy of support, it must be healthy. Thanks so much for watching and taking time to comment. ^^
Idk why people keep glamorizing places like Korea, Japan or Dubai, and fail to realize the dark side and reality of it. It’s not as amazing as everyone thinks. It’s no better or worse than any other industrialized place. But cuz of K-pop, anime, and influencers, people just throw reason out the window. Do your research and study and visit those places before even considering moving.
Korea has absolutely appalling working conditions and culture. I´ve already heard enough to know that it would just suck all the live out of me. Always hoping it will get better.
Well I heard some news before how the korean agency treat their talents/artist the reason most of them breakdown and hospitalized over fatigue and lack of sleep.
It appears that avoiding to work in S. Korea is the correct thing to do. In HK I had a Korean colleague that confessed that he left his country because of the working conditions: they wouldn't be able to leave the office in the evening before their boss did. I once went through a round of interviews with a Korean outfit in which they were adding more responsibilities at each stage although they weren't in line with my professional qualifications. It sounded weird and dropped the interviews; something was telling me that that job in Korea wasn't worthy it. I'm glad it didn't work.
Good people welcome to Kenya, we are not racist nor discriminate, we like interacting with people from different countries . Be respectful and try to understand our way of life your time will be very enjoyable.
Korea has forgotten where they are, what they are and who they are back in the days the least where they rooted from. These things should've been taught in school to be able to make it's citizens grateful and compassionate. Everything must come in a proper upbringing from home and a proper education at school by then the country and the citizen will grow and spread the values of being the light and salt of this world. Arrogance and greed will always have a returned karma
There’s this “rape culture” which actually exists but not just in Korea but in many places in the world. The problem is how we women are targeted by some man and what should be really thought-out is how police and the different governments deal with it.
I see what you mean, but what's really important to remeber is that on the visa, you aren't allowed to 1. Work any other job for money on the side (part time work of any kind) so you can't support yourself when there isnt any work 2. Forigners don't see the contracts and the casting 'agents' forge signatures and take as much money as they want and this is the practice - it is NOT this way for Koreans. 3. Forigners can not unionize. 4. The agents work together in a type of mafia, so you'll be black listed at best if you try to help, and there is no single agent that ISNT doing this to the forigners. And 5. The agents have a huge hand in se.x trafficking in Korea- using the desperate and trapped forigners on E6. Basically, its all the horrible things about the Korean ent. Industry, but 10 times more inescapable.
if an artist/actor as big as lee seung gi can get fairly untreated by his agency, and you, as a "nobody" actor/artist also most probably can get unfairly treatment.
I have been modeling for about 8 years and spent quite a lot of time in Korea. I was on an E6 visa for a while too and met many friends who were people like the ones in this video. I worked in many different countries, but Korea was probably the worst for me. Although I also had horrible experiences with agents in Japan and Europe. You're just a tool to make money for them and the whole industry is so badly regulated. We are never able to check what a client actually pays for us and there's a lot of manipulation going on. (Telling you to accept low prices because "you're on the shorter/older/chubbier side" for example). It's not safe and it's not worth it. Recently, The New York State Assembly passed the Fashion Workers Act, which should protect models working in the fashion industry by regulating management agencies. I really hope other countries and branches will do the same.
Foreigners are not allowed to do CPR in South Korea....I discovered this when the Itaewon tragedy happened...... Yep, the entertainment industry in SK is virtually Slave Labour...look how Idols are Kept, Trained, Groomed, Pushed....They OWN their Souls The Acting industry is much the same ...the Government, Agencies and Public own the Actors and Idols .....they are groomed to believe it is Highly Appreciated if the Actors do their own Stunts .....but this is the Korean way, the Stigmas, the Hierarchy Pecking Order....the lack of Anti Abuse Laws are prevalent across the board...that's the society they're still holding onto....but you can see a small shift for change....they need to change, as there's so much coming to light on social media, it doesn't look good for them. Well done on producing this video 👏🏻👏🏻
@@saisai0123 Yes, I also became aware of that when I saw foreigners interviews who where present at the incident. They wanted to help but were not allowed. I still don't understand the logic of it.
This is the country that made its workers go back to work after a girl was found dead, entangled in a dough mixing machine after a night of working by herself with the safety portion of the machine taken off.
I guessed this is not only for foreigners in korea but I believe what worse is those idol companies that recruit young unknown teens some as young as 10 years to be trainees for years yet not paid at all. lots end up with nothing coz they didn't debut successfully & left the industry with nothing but debts. if one wants to put fault in it I guess it's the government fault for not looking into this & setting up regulations & laws countered against abuses like this.
In Korea, contracts only work when the company wants to hold you to something in the contract. Good luck if you're the employee and you want the company to stick to what was agreed upon.
Odd thing about South Korea is that they have signs for nightclubs “no foreigners aloud” funny we do not have signs like that in the USA or the United Kingdom 🤔
Yes, but we (Caucasians) are the racist ones😂. And they live off the foreign consumption of their industries: entertainment, technology, etc......we, the "racists", keep them
Heh, I saw that once while I was there, but it's not the norm. To be fair, it's very much the norm in places like Thailand. I don't care about that so much as the draconian work practices I experienced and they were harsh, and it was that way for both Koreans and foriegners.
The first woman? You obviously don't know what the Gangnam nose looks like but it's a thing, and it's not what she has on her face. I didn't know she was an actor but when I was there bc she was most wellknown for having some kind of group that did animal welfare work, and she was always on the English radio or newspaper for it, etc she was a big animal rights person. I met her once at an event to protest puppy mills and she has the same crooked nose she did then and (gasp!), noticeable wrinkles so idgi with all the surgery references for someone talking about serious sh*t? True that she used to be scary skinny, but she looks the same as she did when I lived in Korea like 15 years ago just older and heavier. It's just sad how people take the most interest in ripping into women's looks, even when they're trying to do something good. women just cannot win, *SMH*
It would be very interesting to analyze comparison between the historical development of legal standards for actors in one country vs the standards and norms versus South Korea. I believe that the source of every abuse & exploitation is hubris and the lack of will/ effort to confirm support or honor a standard - one supposed value is placed higher than another.
Actors and entertainers in general were once considered the lowest of the low in the United States, no better than prostitutes. It was only when they became popular with movies and unionized that they got any power, but they are still abused in the United States. There are several documentaries about the abuse of minors connected with kid tv shows.
Wow disgusting that no Korean actors speak out about this. Kpop has been exposed but the acting industry has been keeping this well-hidden. And of course we are learning this from a video in English!!!!!
I read a comment by the woman who produced it that it was intentionlly made in English because there are many similar ones in Korean language media, and in this case they wanted to help prveent people from going to Korea with false hopes. I think it would be best to have subtitles anyway though - agree with that. Korean culture makes it very difficult for Koreans to complain, but some do, such as Kpop star Sully. If you know what happened to her, you' know why it's rare. It's tragic tho, for sure.
I worked as a fashion model and actress in Korea for 5 years. The issues I - and THOUSANDS of other actors and talent faced, not just me - is ENOURMOUS and yes, it IS life threatening. I had to literally escape the country just a few months ago. I was homeless the entire time, even though I was talented and worked on many good, well-paying projects, worked 16-20 hours a day trying to find work when I wasn't on set for 30 hours, and would have been paid a livable salary if foreign casting agencies would have actually paid me. I had people who often helped me out with money or food, too. I was hospitalized twice for manutrition and overworking my body, and I still couldn't buy a single meal most of that time. What Garrison said is 100% true; they almost always take 80 - 90% of your payment and because they forge your signatures on the contracts, and you never see that contract or know it exists - you won't even know it.
The agencies who sponosor E-6 visas work together. It's quite literally organized crime, a mafia, and YES, if you ask questions or ask for your contracts (which are always required for every set, ask any Korean talent) you will be blacklisted. I agree with Kelly; I no longer support the E-6 visa and strongly advise against anyone getting one. I can promise you, you will regret it. You can't 'beat the system.' Not to mention that the agencies often sell their female talent in a se-x trafficking ring. They beat you down, make it so you are completely alone, desperate and don't know what is really going on, then suddenly you start getting strange men trying to pay you to sleep with them, or other dangerous situations I won't get into here.
Some of these problems exist for the Korean talent as well, such as issues with se-x trafficking, under pay and terrible agent contracts, but that exists in every place and every industry- Hollywood is full of such predatory agencies - so a smart Korean talent can avoid these issues and also legally seek compensation or justice. All of my Korean friends who are talents are doing fairly well for themselves, even if they aren't extremely rich or famous or whatever else. If they see an issue, they can easily avoid it or chose not to work with that agent.
However, there is no hope for forigners to do the same. DO NOT go to Korea to work as talent, and if you are in Korea and considering getting and E-6 visa, DO NOT DO IT. Again, you can not beat the system. I spoke with several lawyers in Korea about what was going on and they couldn't believe it - they told me that only with a team of 10+ lawyers and a couple hundred people on board, could they even figure out how to help punish these criminals because it is such a complicated web. We have tried and thankfully, we are getting the word out there, but change is a long, long way to come.
To put it into perspective, I earned about 5,000 USD total my entire time in Korea. Yes, the entire 5 years I lived there - I only earned about 5,000 USD.
R Jeanne, This was painful for me to read. I appreciate you sharing such a personal and painful part of your past this way. It's upsetting that you endured such a scary, damaging quality of life for so long. I wish you could have received adequate support back then (though I'm relieved you received "some"), and I'm sorry to learn that nothing more substantial was available to you. I hope that wherever you are now, you feel happy and fulfilled. I hope you're healthy and can look back and find meaning apart from your hardship and pain, as that's a great deal of time, and we can't "have time back." The very act of sharing experience is significant and generous. Thank you. Wishing you health, happiness, and inspiration wherever you are in this big/small world
whered you sleep?
@@K-newborn wherever I could. Sometimes I got to stay at someone's house for a week or two but lots of times I was on the streets. Parks and subway atations. Sometimes I could afford a goshiwon for a month but that was only twice :(
@@rjeanne4683 thanks for the response i hope your doing well, I want to bike korea homeless
@@K-newborn ah I would recommend looking into planned traveling, there are lots of places and things you can do to stay safe that a person in my position can't. Its not really the same thing.
and then people dont understand why some fans are against kids being into entertainment industry
The crying child was so sad. I’m happy the mom was there
Who some people? I seen a lot of complaints about underage kids working for entertainment
@@sodalite5294 i dont understand your question
It is easier for these corporations to brainwash kids and teenagers with dreams and fantasies.
Leave my K-pop alone Jerk
It’s also in journalism as well. I wrote and article and sent it to the editor of the Korean times regarding tourism and English towns in Jeju. It was a well researched piece. I got an email back from the editor saying that they couldn’t use it. Two months later when English towns became national news, my article was published under some Korean writers name. I wrote to the editor saying it was plagiarism and was told to shut up or people would visit me to shut me up. I then went to the lawyer and filed a lawsuit against them. But the courts threw it out. After that I got a visit from some local thugs who thought they could intimidate me. Both short and fat so I wasn’t. I continued to make noise, and then my boss from the education department called me in an threatened me that I would lose my job if I continued to make noise. I did the midnight run that night and left Korea. The people of Korea are the biggest racists I have ever met and the way they deal with foreign residents is disgusting. Don’t bother going there. The Korean times doing this series are a bunch of hypocrites, pretending to care about foreign talent. What more than likely happened is that word has got out and they are trying to do damage control
Ooof. I agree, I am glad there is finally some reporting going on from Korea Times, but I had been trying to get word out for years with them. They also didn't talk about the truly dangerous and awful things, and interviewed people who actually did okay for themselves in Korea. I know the people personally and they were the few who actually made a smigeon of money and did okay. Its far worse than this reports and its.... you might be right about damage control.
I love Korea but, I don't know if I can ever go back. It was so horrible. And I'm sorry your work was plagerized. I am not suprised the courts threw it out (this happened to me to when I tried to do something about various issues).
@@rjeanne4683 Wow! So what they show in their dramas abt prejudice & behind the scene maneuverings by the prosecution office isn't a joke after all? More so towards foreigners!
Your story doesn’t surprise me, though it certainly horrifies me. I have had a similar thing happen to me, and I've known of similar events when people stood firm in defiance as you did. What you did takes a great deal of courage. Most of the time, that kind of defiance doesn’t happen.
I was once pressured (and to an extent, kinda blackmailed) into signing away my right to royalties over the televised ESL franchise I literally created, with minimal contribution from JEI. The script for Full Sentence English was initially given to me as “an idea we all hate and know will fail but our President and VP like it so we have to do it anyway” - and “No one has any real expectations of this succeeding so don’t worry.” I felt I had a good idea, and it was something I’d never seen done before. I was given license to rewrite the pilot initially and that led to me re-writing the entire show and changing the concept (but we kept the lame title). To this day, the franchise generates spin-offs. It was a monster amount of work - and work I chose to do because of my personal work ethic. By then, I’d interned at EBS as a writer and worked closely with a director for a few years who mentored me in ESL program production and it was the sort of challenge I'd hoped for. I also couldn’t stomach the idea of “doing crap work so knowingly”. I didn’t get any extra compensation, but that wasn’t the primary value I sought. To be fair, I fully expected to be appropriately credited at the time and our crew supported that notion because they were apparently as naive as I was. My actions required approval from their GM, and were no secret. That show launched a franchise, and that franchise became a best-selling program. I even idiotically fell for the GM pretending she was interested in hiring me again, and asking me to mock up new ideas - only to be painfully ghosted. 🙄It’s a complex game that is tricky to play because we all live in a state of compromise just to exist in it. On the one hand, it was pure joy creating and hosting the work. On the other, any refusal to let myself be screwed would’ve just invited them to find another (and possibly more damaging way) to shut me down and I knew it. This was about money. I had no leverage. I’ll never forget looking her staff in the eye as they handed me the documents and telling them, “K I know that you know I’m being screwed out of royalties I deserve here and I don’t believe you want to hurt me or have much real choice because your leadership sucks, but watching you try and lie about this makes me sick so how about I just tell you I don’t hold you responsible and we cut the shit?” One PD started crying that day and another was shaking and couldn't look at me. We enjoyed a good relationship on set and I could see they hated what they’d been commanded to do. They also knew I worked my ass off to make them look good. I was angry and hurt for a time, but ultimately, I know it was my work. I credited myself correctly on IMDB. It was still very painful, even though I knew it wasn't personal. This is how it is. I admire what you did and I’m horrified it led to the loss of your Korean life.
Regarding the team that made this, I must respectfully disagree, but I completely understand why you'd feel that way doubt "the entity that hired them". Anyone would.
The Korea Times’ management didn’t initiate this work. This topic was submitted to the Korea Press Foundation as a proposal by a woman who partially grew up in America and takes special interest in the abuse of minorities and in women's issues. She did an exposé on expat rape that went viral. Teams can choose topics to propose, and in some cases, they can choose topics, but they answer to editors in the end. They shape their career through the types of content they pitch. Her editor approved the project after she secured that funding. To her credit, she endured (and was defiant of) a pretty crazy amount of hate mail over some of the segments in this project - notably the first because of the implications that certain business people in Busan felt it made. She spent a significant amount of her personal time trying to assist the couple portrayed in Segment 1 in getting out of the incredible mess they were in, and that is one of several reasons I will forever be grateful to her. She helped me circulate the GoFundMe I made for them using the Korea Times network (which I’m sad to say failed miserably). She spent 9 months preparing for this and encountered more than a few obstacles. Few journalists ever really wrap their heads around this topic as It’s complex, and there's a ton of history to it. This series was her brainchild, and it seemed to arise after she asked to do a short interview with me for a small piece that turned into a 4-hour discussion, after which she joined chat groups to start learning and asked for a lot of literature and information. I've worked with many writers in Korea, and this type of effort is exceptionally rare. The Korea Times is a gov't owned machine, but the people there shouldn’t be automatically condemned because of the crappy choices made by their management. I know I wouldn’t want to be held accountable for that while I wrote for them, and I once worked as a guest health columnist there. While nothing about your story surprises me, I believe wholeheartedly that the intentions of this team are sincere, and I was blown away by the work ethic of the lead PD's video production team. I was also extremely impressed by the respect they showed my members and myself, and I’m not easily impressed. This type of content can get painful and emotional, and she was incredibly patient and generous with me at times when I expect she was busy as hell. I am stunned we were given this opportunity and feel very grateful it was that team that led it.
@@rjeanne4683💓
I’d like to address your reply in depth, and I’m grateful you shared. This may not be apparent (and my guess is it isn't apparent at all based on other replies), but there are 3 other videos in this series and the first 2 involve some of the most heartbreaking situations I have known. We were somewhat limited due to the dynamic this gentleman's story illustrates well: if you resist exploitation, you're going to pay for it, and anonymity wasn’t an option we could offer participants. If you check out parts 1 and 2, I believe you'll agree they're compelling. I was asked to help find interviewees, and the task was difficult. Thanks to the prevalence of fear tactics, we largely lacked the luxury of choice. I Initially felt reluctance - it took me time to feel confident with the lead producer - who eventually gained my full trust or I assure you, I would not have participated as I did. I felt concerned anyhow due to the consequences participants potentially faced. I feel a degree of responsibility for my group members and appreciate that trust is put in me. That, and a few months earlier, I watched the awful BS that those who participated in DAKA’s press conference faced. Openly opposing a system you currently work in is no small feat -as you well know. I’m stunned we had the ability to create video 3. I'm also inspired by the bravery...
Part 1 discussed 2 political refugees who ended up desperately leaving Korea for Qatar after checking every box possible and getting no where, and then (I recently learned) were screwed by their new employers 2 weeks into the job :( The Korea Times helped me circulate a gofundMe that wasn't very successful (but we are doing what we can to support them). The second is about a trafficked sex worker from The Philippines.
Every writer and/or team at The Times is distinct. While I can only speak about what I experienced, I was blown away by the dedication I witnessed. PD Minyoung worked for 9 months to wrap her head around these issues. BTW, this is the link to the website housing all videos and related stats - www.koreatimes.co.kr/interactive/foreignartist and I think it should've been included in the description. They commissioned an external website to avoid political tension, specifically because the gov't owns The Korea times and the team had no wish to hold back.
The media was not always an ally - in that, you're painfully correct. I recall the brutal fallout that Gloria Kim (our very first writer) faced by netizens. She even ended up being dragged into court by an agent (who lost). Frankly, I couldn't believe she came back for more or came to us wanting to write at all. She told me she had a foreign friend who shared their story, and she wanted to do something about it. She wrote at least 7 or 8 articles by the time she left her paper and seemed sincerely motivated by a desire to help bring awareness about these issues. She and the lead PD here are treasures, but Gloria Kim got the subject in the news enough to inspire JTBC to help elevate the issue's credibility, and it took her multiple articles to do it. Before her, we had no reason to expect anything from the media - and expat abuse isn't a popular topic in Korea. I'd never seriously considered pushing stories - the gov't owns the majority of papers and Ohmynews essentially told me to f*ck off. The media was no friend of ours until around late 2020 and the I credit the change to a unique individual whose motives I still don't fully understand but massively appreciate.
This project has limitations - and I understand and share your frustration. Lives are incredibly nuanced. There's a great deal of my story that couldn't be told here. I know you know me in the context of our social media connection - and I am extremely grateful for knowing you. ^^ I intentionally try and leave a lot of "me" out of what I do in the group unless my experience is relevant to something someone is facing. I believe I enjoyed success, but I also endured some very ugly and dangerous things. We ended up excluding some of those experiences out of concern they may detract from the message. Consistency is strong - many of our experiences overlap. I spent my entire adult life in Korea, and I certainly wasn't always successful - that took time and work. My residency spanned 20 years, and the team had 10-15 min to cover data from 7 people. I've definitely had some very bleak years. I have a complex relationship with Korea, but love is part of it. To be real, I think part of my success was tied to timing. It was a much different environment when I started, and that's when I laid down roots. That was sheer luck. Despite it, I had some pretty awful shit happen to me.
Finding people to participate in USA was challenging - especially since any actor in America who is part of SAG literally can't admit to taking work in Korea. Considering the obstacles, I think we were lucky. One gent even flew to LA on his own dime, and the incredible attitudes of everyone that participated overwhelmed me. I wasn’t expecting such generosity, nor did I expect organizations to take this as seriously as they did, and thank goodness because we couldn’t pay anyone for a thing. We did our best, and I did my best, but looking back, there are many things I would have done differently. This was a learning experience. I wish you could have joined us. It's wonderful having your contribution to this page, and you stand out in my memory as being both brave and extremely willing to try and help others. Knowing all you've endured, I am all the more moved that you found the energy to do that. Moved, grateful and humbled…this got long, but you possess unique context and insight, and you’re one of the people this was made for. We did our best to represent the struggles of others with what we were given. I hope I get another shot at it someday - I’ve learned a lot and there’s definitely room for improvement. Advocating for change in Korea is extremely worthy to me.💓
As someone who was working under a 3-year contract as an actor model in Seoul I am very happy to see this series about the conditions of work there for foreigners. I do hope that Korea will take it seriously and make the necessary changes to treat everybody fairly.
They will not 😂
Tjey cant even accept equal rights for women.. Let alone foreigners..Korea is just a hypocritical country...
NOthing to do with Korean, just the culture program to be like this. Even korean suffer too.
When you think about how they overwork and mistreat their own Korean entertainment,it probably won't happen for awhile and as SK and a few other countries are very image importance based Noone will speak up because it's expected to keep up face.
@Rahel. It's Korea not America. They can do whatever they want. 🤷🏿♂
“The job was more important than the lives of these two men” I don’t think I would cope very well in that environment!
I wonder if he has gone to therapy.
I was always surprised when idols said they worked nonstop on a set for like 18hrs or something absurd without sleeping. This explains a bit of why it's concerning when young idols join the industry.
Yeah, in Korea, labor conditions and politics are still in 1970's. Workers rights advocates still get hostile treatments.
I am aware that the Korean entertainment industry is toxic, but hearing them from people who experienced it as individuals is just eye opening. No wonder few of Korea stars are stressed and miserable.
Also some skilled foreign workers.
Korea as a whole is toxic not just entertainment industry.
You don’t hear this from Korean actors themselves out of fear of retaliation from their superiors. Not surprised to hear this, because as many know, many Korean actors have committed suicide.
That's incredibly grim to consider, but you're correct that Koreans know the consequences and accept the status quo, but they suffer from the nature of the industry and its norms. There are different types of Korean performers - different levels and different states of autonomy. Some are controlled by agents or media networks who register and represent them, some are pure freelance and some have deals with smaller managers. A VERY small number are fully independent - and that very thing is distinct enough for them to have fame among their peers for It as it means they control everything aspect of their career. I've only known one individual of this nature in my time in Korea. They were greatly admired for it, and for good reason. In fact, it literally became part of their branding. I peronsonally believe that reform would benefit most participants - and I know of several agents that share this sentiment. The next year will be interesting as we see 3 new "for profit" visas launched by the gov't and we advocate for inclusion in the new laws created for artist protection.
understandably so, the koreans have no real retreat/escape route. Whilst foreigners can retreat back overseas. Sad reality.
A huge thank you and credit to Kelly who works tirelessly to support fire nurse in Korea who end up being exploited and have nowhere to turn. Thank you for bringing this to light as you have been doing for years
Holy crap, the Kia commercial story is both shocking and yet also completely unsurprising. Shameful.
And I love my Kia ... Sorry for the people that were maltreated there...
I have this gut feeling that South Korea just treats foreigners so badly. Specially non-asian ones, but still treats the asian ones badly too, just less.
actually from wht i heard they dont like south east asian people. they prefer white or fair skin people
@@serenajourneys Yup. They look down on other Asians (SE Asians, South Asians, and Central Asians). In general, they're narrow-minded. But ironically, they go to my country to make a living. Korean in my country is the 13th-largest population of overseas Koreans according to South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2018 (around 78,676 persons). Maybe 80,000 - 100,000 Koreans in my country make a living this year.
@@fffw1826 Right? There are A LOT of koreans here in Brazil from a long time immigration wave. Still, if I go to South Korea some will give me a side eye 🤧
@@le96g Right. They're not immigrants but expatriates in my country. They will return to S.Korea after they're retired or after their job contracts end. TMI, Brazil, S. Korea and my country are G20 members.
Yep, they treat everyone like trash, even their significant others, lol.
After living in Korea for almost a year and a half, I have heard a lot. My husband is Korean and said people are scared to just give a something back that was lost because people are scared they will be accused of stealing it or stealing money out of a purse/wallet, etc. At his work, if something were to happen to someone, they would just be scared of getting in trouble, not about the safety of their workers. Also, I visited Korea a few years ago, before I knew my husband, and a girl I knew talked about how she could have gotten her employees at her English academy kicked out of the country and I talked to one of her ex-employees who talked about her experienced being constantly threatened by her before she finally left in the middle of the night, or "midnight run". 😬
Koreans only want you to talk about how good they are in everything but not their dark side or where they are making mistakes.
Most Korean movies or dramas are about criticizing the problems of Korean society.
It's not hiding, but rather expressing it more.
@@썰프리 I think that's an interesting point, especially when I consider Korean horror movies - many of which are centered on just that (and very effective). It's troubling how many people seem inclined to jump to unhelpful and/or offensive generalizations in this discussion. That doesn't lead anywhere productive. Thanks for your input, and best wishes.
I appreciate your feelings and that the actions discussed in the videos are painful, but I believe it's human nature to want to emphasize the positive aspects of ourselves. It's uncomfortable for anyone to "talk about their dark sides." I hope people identify that this isn't a "black and white" matter and that this video doesn't discuss Korean culture. This is a crisis, but there are reasonable ways to improve what's happening, and in the meantime, prevention through media exposure is a step in the right direction. These discussions help spread awareness. :) Korea has plenty that is worth exploring and celebrating. As it is with all places, there are many different sides - and some are quite beautiful. Thanks for watching.
It sounds like you're just misinformed or didn't keep up with the news, Koreans call their country Hell Chosun or Hell Korea, implying they have so many social issues going on. They're also curious why foreigners come, do they not knowing every thing in Korea and only watch K drama and listen to K pop?(sounds like you right there)
East Asian countries all have their problems with government, while Korea calls itself "Hell Korea", Taiwan calls themselves "Ghost Island", life for foreigners in Japan isn't easy too, white people or European looking people do have a privilege compare to other foreigners but it still limits you.
@@썰프리
Most? Most are absolutely not that. Some? Yes. But that is as much on TV or movie screens as the dramas are. Daily life is exactly as stated in the video. I have always laughed when I read articles about Korea being the financial hub of Asia and such. HOW? A foreigner can't even get a credit card. Well, you can, but it functions exactly like a debit card: The balance must be paid each month in full. Mind you, this is apparently against the law. Doesn't matter.
Korea is not foreigner-friendly except on the surface, or if you make a LOT of money.
As a Mongolian, we have so many rape, abuse, murder cases not being taken seriously cuz they were illegal, legal but foreign workers.
This country is still living in the Joseon and foreigners are living in their personal k-drama.
Several K pop stars left permanently they just couldn't take the pressure
Plus look at how many Chinese and foreign idols end up leaving Korea. Pay disparity is just one issue.
I think it is a great video. I must say however I think the issue of how foreigners get treated in Korea isn't only in the entertainment industry. In general being a foreigner in korea is really hard when you try to work and build a life. You often get ignored or mistreated at work but also outside of work. If you live outside of Seoul, things are a lot tougher too. I have lived her for over 3 years and have reached a point where I had enough and have decided to go back to my home country. I really hope that people that will come to Korea in the future will have a more realistic view of the country instead of some fantasy. Documentaries like this one are a real eye opener for anyone planning to come.
Facts. I'm really impressed this was made and they did a good job even if it feels like a lot got left out that shouldn't have. This was good work and I hope the effort to teach people about what's really happening keeps up. I agree that people live in fantasy land too much when they head to Seoul and that can be dangerous, especially if they're not prepared or really qualified to begin with and riding a dream. People need to make decisions with solid info, and this is accurate. So is what you wrote. Really encouraging to see this.
I had heard about "idol" treatment that was sketchy, but this was an eye-opener
That happens pretty much in any countries if you go as a foreigner.
When I went to work in Korea I had heard horror stories of how foreign workers were treated, I refused to work at a hagwon, so I went for working in public schools, it can be hit or miss how you might be treated at work, I was lucky that all my colleagues were kind, but it was the contract that was most important, because working in a public school is a government job the contracts tend to be pretty solid, if we ever had a problem we always were to refer back to the contract.
Thank you Korea Times for starting to show these issues about Korea and not only the good things. This way not only the life and rights of foreigners but also of Koreans can improve. The first step of solving a peoblem is acknowledging it, sadly talking about negative things about your country or family is not very keen to Korean culture, but maybe there’s some change ahead and things can be improved.
I think you missed this :
@SA-dx5sx
It’s also in journalism as well. I wrote and article and sent it to the editor of the Korean times regarding tourism and English towns in Jeju. It was a well researched piece. I got an email back from the editor saying that they couldn’t use it. Two months later when English towns became national news, my article was published under some Korean writers name. I wrote to the editor saying it was plagiarism and was told to shut up or people would visit me to shut me up. I then went to the lawyer and filed a lawsuit against them. But the courts threw it out. After that I got a visit from some local thugs who thought they could intimidate me. Both short and fat so I wasn’t. I continued to make noise, and then my boss from the education department called me in an threatened me that I would lose my job if I continued to make noise. I did the midnight run that night and left Korea. The people of Korea are the biggest racists I have ever met and the way they deal with foreign residents is disgusting. Don’t bother going there. The Korean times doing this series are a bunch of hypocrites, pretending to care about foreign talent. What more than likely happened is that word has got out and they are trying to do damage control
Korea does a lot of reporting on negative stories. Koreans are very self-critical.
"GOT TO KEEP GOING, KEN. FIGHTING!" 😭😭😭
Korea needs an actors union like SAG. So they can't F the actors over. Even though acting is for entertainment, it's still a legitimate job.
That won't happen until the actors demand it. As long as they submit to the industry, things will never change.
I never got this fascination with Korea. Always felt it was a deeply sick country. Getting so much confirmation left and right all the time 😮
Yes. Their society is so materialistic and shallow.
same here. they all seem fake and putting on a facade
Very racist 😢
Why I've never been too interested to go. As a southeast asian-american, i just feel the s.korean culture would just be toxic against me. I don't need that on a vacation....
Learn about their absolute tragic history. You might understand their culture a tiny bit better.
problem is, unless you are a top tier actor/actress in the film industry in most countries, you have little to no bargaining power. That's why most actors/actresses don't whistleblow until after they have enough social capital where their words matter and have weight with the public. If you are essentially a cameo or a glorified extra, most people won't give you the time of day in Korea let alone Hollywood. I'm glad they're shedding light on this , but I don't think it will change anytime soon. Even in the ESL industry, there are less teachers who are willing to put up with bullshit, but most schools or hagwons refuse to change conditions, so basically schools would rather be without teachers for months than hire with better conditions in Korea. What does happen though is that teachers who wouldn't normally get hired due to being from a specific country or having a specific accent will get hired more often which is kind of of pro. But the problem is, foreign actors in Korea aren’t considered highly expendable since they are stars in any of their work.
I agree with most of what you said, but I also think this video doesn't show the reality. I know the people in the video personally and they generally did okay. But at the end, what you said about them not being considered expendable, I TOTALLY disagree with. My exeriance was that we were considered more expendable and the 'agents' didn't care less if we left or not. As long as they could exploit us as much as possible. I knew only one person who consistently could pay for a small apartment, as a model, and she was the only female senior model in Korea. So, she wasn't expendable. But everyone else is VERY expendable.
@@rjeanne4683 that was a typo, i meant to say they were expendable
Thank you for brining this issue forward. I this will be the cause for more conversation & change.
Thanks so much for watching and for your support and encouragement ^^
I'm Asian American. My family and I immigrated to the U.S. in 1979 when I was 11 years old. However, I still have the *ASIAN WORK ETHIC,* but the kind of *BE A MAN* approach by Asian supervisor and employers is unhealthy. There's a reason western countries have work place safety measures and laws in place. Employees should are not slaves.
Westerners value humans as they have already gone through worst .
So don't waste time in funding why they value humans
If you let these employers run over you they will. When your body is worn out, and you can’t mobilize anymore your employer will kick you to the curb and find someone new. Bump that Junk! Take care of yourself and live❤
Lol, what the heck is Asian American? Surely you know specifically what country in Asia you are from😂😂😂😂
America is about to lose OSHA. We've returned to slavery here.
It’s toxic to the extent of horrifying. Run for your life.
A very interesting documentary. Thanks to all those who took part in its production, and I hope Kelly, Garrison and the other actors featured are now leading peaceful and fulfilling lives.
Thank you so much for the feedback and warm wishes. I appreciate you watching and wish you the same ^^
@@kellyfrances4943 You're welcome Kelly!
Thanks for the well-wishes.
Best wishes to you! 😀
appreciate Korea Times for doing these video series.
Thank you for your courage and I applaud you for taking time to actually address some comments to further educate the viewers.
I appreciate your thoughtful comment and support. Wishing you the very best
This is a problem for Korean talents too so it's not surprising. Many Korean talent agencies take advantage of people in vulnerable situations (either due to being naive, lack of knowledge or language barrier), just look at all the idols and singers who were children and signed their life away to be stolen from and gaslit. A huge scandal just a few months back was a widely popular singer who believed he never made any money from his songs and was told he was a negative asset by his CEO. Talents are expected to work with 2-3 hours a sleep between filming at times, even at top levels. There are so many foreigners who consume entertainments based on fabricated worlds of Korean fantasy, almost to the point of fetishing it, that they decide to uproot their life and move to a country they don't really know about. Do your research people. Korea was a war-torn country risen from the ashes by policies set in place by a military dictatorship that relied on nationalism and uniformity. Of course there will be issues.
❤❤❤
Yep, corporate music sucks.
I think an important point here is that foriegners don't have rights in Korea, and they aren't able to make good choices. The industry is awful everywhere, but on E6, even if you learn your lesson and try to avoid exploitation, its impossible. Whereas a Korean national can learn and stay away from it.
Although I do think corruption and exploitation is more prevalent in Korea all around for sure.
I'm glad this is being talk more about.
And this is just barely scratching the tip of the darkness in the entertainment industry. Wait till the sexual abuse of minors time bomb goes off, no one is ready for it.
I’m hoping that the girl group ‘new jeans’ is unscathed. Most or all of the girls are minors and one of their debut songs was called ‘Cookie’ and had many s:xual innuendos . Korean entertainment keeps getting younger and ageist.
Yes. This video doesn't even touch on it, but the agents also use their models for se.x trafficking. They get them desperate and then try to sell them off.
@@idongesitx1873 their CEO is a known creep... look at what past fans said on groups she worked with NCT dream, FX, etc. She also took the girls to have dinner with military men recently. One of them is still underage. They have definitely seen some things
Good content, but how about adding Korean subtitles so it could be shared and communicated within the domestic industry?
Thank you - that's a great idea. We've had a lot of Korean language coverage during the past couple of years, and we felt celebratory about the notion of a multimedia English project that might act as a cautionary tale for the west. Still, I agree entirely that much may be lost by excluding Korean subtitles. I'll pass on that feedback. Happy new year, and thank you for your feedback!
Is there anything in Korea that is not corrupt?
One of my dream was to visit the country at least once in my life but I don't want to go anymore.
Edit: And now it turned out that The Korean Times is a f*cking hypocrite as well...
What happened with the Korean Times????
While this is the last episode of your exposé specifically on entertainers, I genuinely hope you expand your digital journalism project even further.WELL DONE!
Thanks so much for the support and encouragement! I agree - the video production team at The Korea Times is extremely talented. Lead Producer Minyoung Lee seems particularly interested in women's issues, expat issues, and stories that are often underrepresented. She's been a treasure for our community, and I'm a fan of her storytelling style. She secures the trust of those she works with admirably. I don't believe we could have pulled this off nearly as well had she not been so gifted in earning trust and so tenacious in learning about this highly complex issue - it's a tough issue to truly understand - a real mess. Ms. Lee spent about 9 months absorbing information before she booked flights - and she's a professional who never seems to run out of energy for her work. I would gladly welcome the opportunity to work with her and her team again. I suspect there will be more to come on this topic as the upcoming year will bring about controversial change, not least due to the introduction of 2 new visas, which you can read about here if interested. www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/culture/2022/12/135_341740.html?fbclid=IwAR2vmZE2Ypr8G94h0h5bbdiktsq_PYnMWtLK5HFCOGmN-9KdCSWITJqktIo There've been mixed reactions, and it's tough for us to know what types of changes these might inspire. Regardless, I feel that change is a good thing for us now, and I look forward to seeing how things unfold. Happy new year, and thanks again for the feedback and positivity!
It sounds like torture, but the norm to Korean entertainment. Motherhood can be grueling and exhausting, looking after your kids around the clock and throughout the night, but the rewards are different. The only time in my life I was able to stay awake for 48 hours was when my husband had covid, but instinct kicked in. It's abuse, honestly. Although South Korea is such a technologically developed country, there is a lot of room for improvement concerning human rights and work ethics. Korea has a lot of beautiful people and a lot of talent. No person can work for 20 hours per day. You'd burn out or drop dead from exhaustion if you lived like that.
Agree with every word you said! very important points you made.
The dictatorship of agencies in Korea is quite astonishing! They are more famous than their own actors and singers. I've followed Super Junior since 2007. They are the kind of artists that should have accumulated a lot of money. Each one of them. But when you see their houses, it is nothing like I imagined. Maybe because I have the imaginary of Brazil. Brazilian artists at the same level as them will always have really fancy luxurious places like mansions, penthouses... Agents here are really important but we, as fans, barely know they exist. We all know they are part of the whole system but they are not famous. Actually, some artists open their own agency and will manage themselves their own careers like Anitta does. The idea that an agent would get 90% cut of the income is just surreal.
In Korea, right now, if you really pay attention to how the entertainment business works, it is pretty much like the golden era of Hollywood when the big studios controlled everything even the way actors would live, what would be their image to the public.
Super Junior is under SM, an agency notorious for signing kids under long contract with renewal option already in place. The profit sharing % under SM has always been high for SM and low for talent (and they have to share among members). I don’t think it’s any different for its new idols.
@@33Jenesis I think that maybe only BTS and Blackpink could broke that.
actually Heechul and many other members own very expensive and big apartments in Gangnam. Its not possible to build penthouses or mansions there since Seoul is densely populated not because they cant afford it. Even BTS and Blackpink they live in apartments
@@sourcr7 Sure, they all have great houses and apartments. Heechul has a US$ 4,2 MI flat. His net worth is around US$ 20 MI. He is known all around the world. Super Junior with others 2nd gen groups led the Korean wave. With products and concerts being sold internationally.
But have you ever heard of Gusttavo Lima? He is one of the most famous Brazilian singers. He is not known outside Brazil since he is from a genre that only has success in Brazil called Sertanejo. It is equivalent of Country from US. His net worth is over US$ 200 MI.
Back to K Pop. In 2022, Jaejoong was the 2nd richest Kpop idol. His fortune was around US$ 70 Mi. 3rd was Psy with US$ 65 Mi. Guess the 1st? JYP with much over 3 times Jaejoong. US$ 250 Mi! He owns the agency.
The house thing doesn’t mean anything considering many of the areas these idols would live don’t have the space to build huge sprawling apartments. Even when the do move out to the countryside where you could build huge places Koreans seem to like to build vertically vs. horizontally.
Internet net worth estimates are also wildly inaccurate. That being said kpop agencies do have skewed profit sharing ratios
You all need to do a better job of outreach into areas of the Korean entertainment industry about these issues as well. For instance there are currently tens of thousands or possibly even hundreds of thousands of young and older people who want to move to Korea to be closer to or even involved in the Idol scene and the number of nightmare cases that I have heard of is incredible. There are predatory agencies in Korea which exist solely for the purpose of grooming young kids to be turned out into the porn Scene and prostitution as well. Many of these kids are foreigners who have no idea, nor do their parents have any understanding of the implications of the contracts which they are signing. They also don't understand the ramifications of failure to adhere to those contracts can be both civil as well as criminal. It is a national disgrace for Korea to allow these things to continue and Korea should well be aware that the fame they have attained through the Hallyu concept can also turn very ugly if these types of abuses continue and go unaddressed by the Legislators and Courts. Equal and fair treatment for all foreign entertainment personnel should be the hall mark of the Korean entertainment industry rather than the exception.
뭔 개소리지?
In all honesty I really doubt that Korea has even the desire to squelch the corruption in the industry. The influx of money from the idol worshippers and the bribe money is all too good for too many people. As long as they can just showcase a bad guy every now and then they can keep on pretending all is well - nothing to hide. Foreigners really DO need to do MUCH more in outreach and to raising awareness big time. It has to come from the foreigners somehow. The other issue is there are so many now flocking to Korea for idol wannabees. These newbies on the scene really don't care about being exploited. So there are way too many "fish in the sea" for the corrupt entities to choose from and this enables an endless cycle of ongoing corruption and exploitation.
yes. Yes yes yes. I am so worried about the new 'Hallu' visa that targets young people.
What made me decide to leave Korea is when I found out that there isn't any way to not be exploited. The agentcies are a mafia that control everything. I found out because a Korean guy wanted me to sign to his Korean company as his actor, and we couldn't make it happen- I got the information on HOW visas are sponsored and realized its all been done illegally. Agents are forging immigration documents.
Reminds me of old Hollywood with the horrible abuse that wasn’t considered illegal
If you are Vietnamese, always remember, that Vietnam is much more interesting then Korea. I have never met so many creative people anywhere. Vietnam will soon become the same number one trend as South Korea (I'm not Vietnamese)
@@trulalongtru It really won't. If you think that, then you haven't been paying attention to what the industry does to outsiders.
Yeah like how the Warner Bros and Louis B. Mayer had the police and court system working for them and covering up scandals.
It always surprises me how each profession talks about its own issues, while not realizing that beyond specifics of each job, it's the same problem for everyone, even outside of artistic lines of work : nothing forces your bosses to treat you right unless the laws of the country, or unions forces him too. That's what strikes are for. So unionize, go on strike, regroup with others. I garanty a union including actors, directors, and technicians will be stronger and get more bargaining power than 1 union for each job. In any case, what I agree on is that artistic profession get more screwed than "boring" ones because recruiters have an endless list of people dreaming to take your job. So do everything in your power to organize yourself, it's the only way.
They didn't mention it (I don't think), but it's actually illegal for foriegners to unionize in Korea. I spent a year there and that was one of the first things i asked about.
So basically K-POP/ Drama and their entertainment INDUSTRY is all smoke and mirrors and over hype BS.
Seems like Korea has many issues the world is blind of. These issues NEED to be made well known everywhere.
no wonder chinese idols don't renew their contracts and leave their kpop groups🤧
This also might explain why some Korean actors/singers do movies or join pop groups in China. It's sad that China seems to be treating Korean talent better than Korea does...
Honestly, even Koreans are mistreated but it is a bit worse for foreigners.
@@ellenmcdaniel1550 that's a whole different problem actually. The way contracts and work visas, specially the one mentioned here are made, makes it difficult for some foreigners in the entertainment industry to work in Korea, and even though some contracts makes artists earn less than they should, or makes them work more in general for both foreigners and Korean people, the reason why many Korean trainees decide to go to China to debut is because the standards are way lower to do so, and have more chances of debuting abroad. Cpop and Kpop requires artists different things in order to debut. Cpop is like Jpop in this sense, the public enjoys seeing the growth of their idols, in Kpop we expect the idols who debut to be impecable already, you can tell the difference just by watching the tv shows that makes trainees contest to debut. If you compare Chinese or Japanese with Korea competition programs you can tell the gap between the trainees and how each of them focus in different aspects. A clear example is boy's planets or produce 101. Chinese and Japanese trainees focus on different areas, like charisma, and even though they do practice singing and dancing it's a bit different ad more calm focus, Koreans target vocals and dance moves. Not to mention that it's starting to be a trend to debut more and more younger idols in Sk, so it'd be harder for a trainee in their 20's to debut in Sk while it's not seeing bad to have a bit "older" trainees in China and Japan
So sorry they went through so much trauma and have to deal with there behaviors
I’m glad that SK is losing its relevance, slowly going out of trends. Isn't there too much talk about Korea.. Korea is everywhere. There are so many interesting countries, with talented designers, singers, unusual culture, cinema, fashion .. But Korea overshadows the talents of other countries and always climbs ahead. But people are so blinded by Korean culture that they elevate the country to the rank of a deity, not noticing the endless horror that is happening in Korea.
I don't think they're losing their relevance at all. I sometimes wish that was true when I think about the things going on that I know of, and not just bc of this video. I actually think they're gaining relevance, at least for entertainment. I hope things get better, anyhow :( I agree there's a lot of talent there, and that makes it all so much more tragic. Lots of potential for sure. Really hoping for the best for all involved, Koreans or otherwise...
@@kenna-nw4fs just recently read a release that said 100 most popular male stars are being organized for introductions to entertainment industry movers and shakers across the world. For the purpose of bringing more investment money and foreign talent to Korean ent industry and to get more roles and jobs in foreign markets for Korean stars and film makers. They may be in for a surprise! If successful, maybe things will change for the better in Korea.
Their industry is financed by Si0n1sts so for that they are everywhere, their technology too
i just hope they will improve the human rights in the industry and yes support other countries too esp your country...
Right now I'm so happy our OPM or original Pinoy music is gaining so much hype and attention we aim for global success too🥺🇵🇭
I love the African industry too so I'm interested in the music factor.. Thanks to Tyla 🩷
This simply reinforces the many stories I've watched, heard and read about the toxic culture of Korean entertainment industry. Every time I looked at any actors or Kpop idols, I always wonder what these people had gone through to be where they are right now. I assume they must had gone through some exploitation, abuse or something.
.....So it all starts with acknowledging other people's humanity...
❤
Reminds me of Godfrey Gao. He had been filming for 17 hours, collapsed doing a reality show and died from a heart attack on set.
Sadly, I feel like this is probably the reality for most actors in Korea and not just for foreigners. I've heard time and time again that work culture in Korea is very problematic and many of my Korean friends choose not to live in Korea for this reason even though they love everything else about Korea.
I lived by Los Angeles Koreatown for 30 years. I grocery shopped there, did my hair there, took kpop dance lessons there, had korean doctors there. One of my best friends for 20+ years is Korean. I asked korean people I know why they came and if they wanted to move back (I was planning to move back to my country after I retire). They told me the same; lack of fairness, personal freedom, choice, and safety. They are happy to be Americans.
@@33Jenesis Yes. When you visit Korea, you'll notice everything is super efficient and advanced. It's a super nice place to live. The price for that is paid by all the working professionals slaving away at relatively low wages.
I keep commenting this, but something important to remember for forigners specifically is that they have no rights. They can't get help or work a second job, and even if they try they can't avoid being exploited to the max on the E6 visa. At least Koreans can unionize, work a secomd job if they need.
I agree its bad for Koreans too, but its more extreme and terrifyingly bad for forigners.
@@rjeanne4683 On the other hand, locals have no other home country they can return to if they're unhappy with the work conditions.
Yes, it is. I think the difference is that Korean nationals have a bit better options as compared to foreign workers.
That's why I only travel to do tourism. I still have plans to go to South Korea but living there...definetely not.
It looks like the golden rules that Korea should had remembered is not to offend those whose services in whatever capacity from investment towards projects to the foreign cast/crew in the entertainment industry is not being followed.
Exploiting the foreign cast/crew/investors is bad business & that gets around to other countries entertainment industry leaders.
I was in internet/print ads and billboards from 2009 to 2015 in South Korea, and I was always paid. The agent didn't want to pay, but I very gently reminded him he was a tiny man in a high-rise office, if he fell, who's to say he didn't jump from stress 😉
Imagine a life that people can't find a job in the home country so claim "I'm A ModEL" in Korea 😅😅
@@권영경-f6d I had a job in every country. This was to make more money. Most people have a job before they do any kind of modeling.
@@johnirby8847 when you can't do the modeling in your home country it says a lot :]
@@권영경-f6d I do in my own country. What are you talking about man?
@johnirby8847 yeah sure 😆 😂 🤣
Behind the glorious kdrama, scary reality
Is hard to connect with anything in Korea,you will always be an outsider, not that you want to be an insider,but just a sense of belonging,but it doesn't exist,and working mentality is different,they never tell you anything on the work flow, communication different.
The dark side of Korean entertainment for foreigner
Really relevant and powerful to see this, especially in light of the fact that I'm not sure it's only Korea that this problem exists, but recently Noa Turushima it was reported on another youtube channel was denied an Intimacy Coordinator by the director of a recent film she is in. There seems an idea that people are just objects, devoid of feelings, devoid of souls, of compassion, of rights even, to be moved by the societal machinery wherever and however it sees fit. I think this is a highly relevant subject to bring to mass world conscious awareness, because if it isn't how do we grow as a world community and expand? It touches on so many levels the fabric of what it means to be a human being, a living being, and its basis it is a question of our inherent value, how much do we value ourselves versus the system, in other words it speaks to the human being's inherent worthiness---intensely relevant, intensely powerful, and insightful. Thank you.
We believe that the scenes of abusive acts by the upper social classes towards workers are extreme dramatizations of kdramas, but at the end of the day, these are common practice in all sectors of Korean society.
I've been a member of SAG-AFTRA here in the US for 47 years (yes, I'm old) and they've gone to bat for me many times when I had an issue on a shoot or a contract. I don't think I would have pursued this career without having that union behind me.
Unfortunately, as an Asian who lives in Asia (born and raised here too), these things are not surprising to me...
@youknowkbbaby SEA. Basically the industry treating people abhorrently is quite common. The workers usually have no power. A political activist was even allegedly poisoned upon going to study about worker’s union in Europe.
Ngl worker rights in Korea are bad, it is a systemic problem. Child labour, unpaid overtime…etc etc. Thank you for raising more awareness to the international community.
SK it’s TIME ⏳ for the rules, regulations and laws to change for IMPROVEMENT of ALL CONCERNED. 💁🏻♀️🌏👀🙏🏽
In order to attract talents from all over the world and keep the entertainment industry active and thriving, putting in place all the reasonable system and regulations and improving the work environment in general would be an important thing, it seems.
I agree. I share our Korean political operative’s view (shown toward the end) that appropriate regulation would ultimately benefit ALL parties, and help Korea realize it’s immense creative potential. The govt clearly recognizes the potential gains of diversity as it’s announced at least one new “for-profit visa” with the intent of providing visitors with exposure to the arts for training purposes. I believe inclusion is a great thing in art, specifically - not to mention the practicality of it. While AI may well become a common “go to” in producing audio for devices which utilize multiple languages, artistic diversity and inclusiveness allows artists to grow in exciting, unpredictable ways. Its often a game changer. I find it awesome that people are inspired to be part of the art scene in Korea and sincerely hope to see steps taken that lead to healthier outcomes for expats. Profit is an undeniable incentive, but in order for an industry to be sustainable and worthy of support, it must be healthy. Thanks so much for watching and taking time to comment. ^^
Thank you for sharing this... South Korea's dark side is so well hidden
Idk why people keep glamorizing places like Korea, Japan or Dubai, and fail to realize the dark side and reality of it. It’s not as amazing as everyone thinks. It’s no better or worse than any other industrialized place. But cuz of K-pop, anime, and influencers, people just throw reason out the window. Do your research and study and visit those places before even considering moving.
Korea has absolutely appalling working conditions and culture. I´ve already heard enough to know that it would just suck all the live out of me. Always hoping it will get better.
Well I heard some news before how the korean agency treat their talents/artist the reason most of them breakdown and hospitalized over fatigue and lack of sleep.
It appears that avoiding to work in S. Korea is the correct thing to do. In HK I had a Korean colleague that confessed that he left his country because of the working conditions: they wouldn't be able to leave the office in the evening before their boss did. I once went through a round of interviews with a Korean outfit in which they were adding more responsibilities at each stage although they weren't in line with my professional qualifications. It sounded weird and dropped the interviews; something was telling me that that job in Korea wasn't worthy it. I'm glad it didn't work.
Good people welcome to Kenya, we are not racist nor discriminate, we like interacting with people from different countries . Be respectful and try to understand our way of life your time will be very enjoyable.
Korea has forgotten where they are, what they are and who they are back in the days the least where they rooted from. These things should've been taught in school to be able to make it's citizens grateful and compassionate. Everything must come in a proper upbringing from home and a proper education at school by then the country and the citizen will grow and spread the values of being the light and salt of this world. Arrogance and greed will always have a returned karma
Sounds like hell to me.
There’s this “rape culture” which actually exists but not just in Korea but in many places in the world. The problem is how we women are targeted by some man and what should be really thought-out is how police and the different governments deal with it.
They treat their own actors citizens worse
I see what you mean, but what's really important to remeber is that on the visa, you aren't allowed to 1. Work any other job for money on the side (part time work of any kind) so you can't support yourself when there isnt any work 2. Forigners don't see the contracts and the casting 'agents' forge signatures and take as much money as they want and this is the practice - it is NOT this way for Koreans. 3. Forigners can not unionize. 4. The agents work together in a type of mafia, so you'll be black listed at best if you try to help, and there is no single agent that ISNT doing this to the forigners. And 5. The agents have a huge hand in se.x trafficking in Korea- using the desperate and trapped forigners on E6.
Basically, its all the horrible things about the Korean ent. Industry, but 10 times more inescapable.
Wishing you all well. Sincerely.
They treat actors and singers so poorly in Korea,they can do better.
if an artist/actor as big as lee seung gi can get fairly untreated by his agency, and you, as a "nobody" actor/artist also most probably can get unfairly treatment.
I have been modeling for about 8 years and spent quite a lot of time in Korea. I was on an E6 visa for a while too and met many friends who were people like the ones in this video. I worked in many different countries, but Korea was probably the worst for me. Although I also had horrible experiences with agents in Japan and Europe. You're just a tool to make money for them and the whole industry is so badly regulated. We are never able to check what a client actually pays for us and there's a lot of manipulation going on. (Telling you to accept low prices because "you're on the shorter/older/chubbier side" for example). It's not safe and it's not worth it. Recently, The New York State Assembly passed the Fashion Workers Act, which should protect models working in the fashion industry by regulating management agencies. I really hope other countries and branches will do the same.
Foreigners are not allowed to do CPR in South Korea....I discovered this when the Itaewon tragedy happened......
Yep, the entertainment industry in SK is virtually Slave Labour...look how Idols are Kept, Trained, Groomed, Pushed....They OWN their Souls
The Acting industry is much the same ...the Government, Agencies and Public own the Actors and Idols
.....they are groomed to believe it is Highly Appreciated if the Actors do their own Stunts
.....but this is the Korean way, the Stigmas, the Hierarchy Pecking Order....the lack of Anti Abuse Laws are prevalent across the board...that's the society they're still holding onto....but you can see a small shift for change....they need to change, as there's so much coming to light on social media, it doesn't look good for them.
Well done on producing this video 👏🏻👏🏻
Are you serious foreigners can't give cpr?
@@saisai0123 Yes, I also became aware of that when I saw foreigners interviews who where present at the incident. They wanted to help but were not allowed. I still don't understand the logic of it.
To think JYJ are still banned for rebelling against this industry is what breaks my heart.
5:00 that poor tiny child
No wonder so many young celebrities in South Korea end up taking their own lives. Most often is depression
This is the country that made its workers go back to work after a girl was found dead, entangled in a dough mixing machine after a night of working by herself with the safety portion of the machine taken off.
The first lady have a very nice voice. Very soothing
Yes, your speakers are broken.
Korea. Oh my goodness is there anything non toxic ... ?
I guessed this is not only for foreigners in korea but I believe what worse is those idol companies that recruit young unknown teens some as young as 10 years to be trainees for years yet not paid at all. lots end up with nothing coz they didn't debut successfully & left the industry with nothing but debts. if one wants to put fault in it I guess it's the government fault for not looking into this & setting up regulations & laws countered against abuses like this.
a door closes and another opens up... find the open door...
❤️
In Korea, contracts only work when the company wants to hold you to something in the contract. Good luck if you're the employee and you want the company to stick to what was agreed upon.
South Korea was founded as a fascist police state, what do you expect?
한국어 자막도 있으면 좋겠다…
한국어 자막이 있어야 해요. 사과드립니다.
If they can treat their own celebrities with scorn, disdain and use bullying tactics, what else they can't do towards foreigners?
Odd thing about South Korea is that they have signs for nightclubs “no foreigners aloud” funny we do not have signs like that in the USA or the United Kingdom 🤔
Yes, but we (Caucasians) are the racist ones😂. And they live off the foreign consumption of their industries: entertainment, technology, etc......we, the "racists", keep them
Heh, I saw that once while I was there, but it's not the norm. To be fair, it's very much the norm in places like Thailand. I don't care about that so much as the draconian work practices I experienced and they were harsh, and it was that way for both Koreans and foriegners.
she looks she jumped to the bandwagon of plastic surgery. Noticiable.
The first woman? You obviously don't know what the Gangnam nose looks like but it's a thing, and it's not what she has on her face. I didn't know she was an actor but when I was there bc she was most wellknown for having some kind of group that did animal welfare work, and she was always on the English radio or newspaper for it, etc she was a big animal rights person. I met her once at an event to protest puppy mills and she has the same crooked nose she did then and (gasp!), noticeable wrinkles so idgi with all the surgery references for someone talking about serious sh*t? True that she used to be scary skinny, but she looks the same as she did when I lived in Korea like 15 years ago just older and heavier. It's just sad how people take the most interest in ripping into women's looks, even when they're trying to do something good. women just cannot win, *SMH*
It would be very interesting to analyze comparison between the historical development of legal standards for actors in one country vs the standards and norms versus South Korea. I believe that the source of every abuse & exploitation is hubris and the lack of will/ effort to confirm support or honor a standard - one supposed value is placed higher than another.
Actors and entertainers in general were once considered the lowest of the low in the United States, no better than prostitutes. It was only when they became popular with movies and unionized that they got any power, but they are still abused in the United States. There are several documentaries about the abuse of minors connected with kid tv shows.
5:42 omg that's Kwak Dong Yeon. Garrison acted in Never Twice? Wow.
But most of entertaiment industry in asia like that. Time, salary, right etc don't manage properly.
The Korean Entertainment Industry is not what it seems from the outside. Their challenging systems create hardship for a lot of actress and actor.
How can you not get screwed in this industry, whether in Korea or anywhere.
Agree
I have seen all these people on surprise tv… which is the most underrated tv show in Korea
I don't know if they were on it, but yeah, surprise is crazy popular! I can't believe that's still around. ^^
I don't understand the fascination with Korea. They're obviously not nice
Wow disgusting that no Korean actors speak out about this. Kpop has been exposed but the acting industry has been keeping this well-hidden. And of course we are learning this from a video in English!!!!!
I read a comment by the woman who produced it that it was intentionlly made in English because there are many similar ones in Korean language media, and in this case they wanted to help prveent people from going to Korea with false hopes. I think it would be best to have subtitles anyway though - agree with that. Korean culture makes it very difficult for Koreans to complain, but some do, such as Kpop star Sully. If you know what happened to her, you' know why it's rare. It's tragic tho, for sure.