Producer Jeong Hyo-min opened up about the controversy surrounding ‘sex + character’.
On the 2nd, I met PD Hyo-min Jeong and PD In-sik Kim, who directed Netflix's 'Sex + Characters', at a cafe in Sogyeok-dong, Seoul.
‘Sex + People’ is a talk variety show that explores the unknown world of sex and characters in the adult culture industry. The 6th Japanese episode was released on April 25th.
The public's reaction to 'sex + character' is polar opposites. Some netizens pointed out that the 'sex + people' content itself, based on Japanese AV, which is illegal to distribute in Korea, was inappropriate. On the other hand, some say that since sexual issues are causing serious problems behind the scenes, if they are dealt with openly, it can actually play a positive role.
PD Jeong said, "There can be many discussions. There is talk about whether AV is legal or illegal. This also seems to be a unanimous opinion. Producing and distributing AV is an area of illegality. Is it illegal for individuals to view AV? It doesn't seem to be illegal. It is legal to produce AV in Japan. There are quite a few countries around the world where it is legal to produce AV. If you decide to produce 'sex + people', should you avoid Japan?' "In Japan, AV is an industry that represents the adult industry, and rather than discussing the rights and wrongs of this industry, the point was to listen seriously to the beliefs and callings of the people working in it," he explained. . He continued, "When you say, 'Have you never heard the story of an AV actor?', it's not true. If you look at YouTube alone, there are AV actors with hundreds of thousands of subscribers. How can we neutrally bring out human stories? What does it mean? “Is it possible? I tried to listen to their work in a careful and respectful manner,” he emphasized.
PD Jeong said, "We approached not only AV, but also other things. The topic we discussed a lot during the meeting was drinking. When dividing illegal and legal, there are defined laws that are punished universally, such as violence and murder. Also, laws are determined by social promise. There is. There may be issues of right and wrong with things like culture and drinking that adults can enjoy, but culturally acceptable stands go somewhere. Regarding this, I wanted to hear various stories in the content that adults watch. 'Korea' I wanted to see what our country's coordinates were, rather than 'this is right and that country is wrong' or 'our country is wrong and that country is right.' In some European countries, drinking alcohol is allowed from the age of 14. In Korea, drinking is allowed on the streets, in parks, etc. Drinking is allowed, but in most countries, drinking alcohol is prohibited in parks. I don't think it's necessarily wrong to have it incorporated into our culture. While there are things that are punishable universally between legal and illegal, there are some things that are determined by culture. "Any adult with the ability to make judgments will listen to stories about various cases around the world and have likes and dislikes. It may be controversial, but I think it's a topic worth bringing up in a meaningful way," he said.
PD Kim said, “In this culture, I am the mainstream and have lived my life thinking that this is true, but even just a little away, I can say that there is a culture like this. When we go to other countries and look at the culture, we listen to the stories of those people from a ‘non-mainstream perspective’. “It’s like that. I think it was interesting to hear that culture and story,” he emphasized.
Kim Ji-won, Ten Asia reporter bella@tenasia.co.kr