LE Seraphim's comments about sexual harassment are serious

Taiwanese singer Hwang Yu-jin made sexual harassment remarks toward the group Le Seraphim. Hwang Wi-jin explained his remarks, but the controversy appears to be intensifying. Global interest in K-pop is increasing. Experts warned that K-pop artists are becoming 'sexual objects' during this process.

Chen Mingju, Wu Gang, and Huang Yujin appeared as the white team in the Chinese Chuseok special program 'Red and White Art Awards', which aired on the 27th (local time). The red team included Sasha and Heo Bugae.

On this day, Le Seraphim was invited by the ‘Red and White Arts Award’ and was scheduled to perform on the finale stage. Before the performance, a food tasting event was held by the 'Red and White Arts Awards', and Le Seraphim tried to eat sweet potato balls with a bamboo skewer. At this time, Hwang Wei-jin said, "I want to put it in too. It's the sweet potato ball underneath them."

Another performer, Sasha, who was present at the time, commented, “I think I made a mistake with my words.” After hearing this, Hwang Wi-jin explained, “I just wanted to eat the same meal as them, and I had no other intention.” Immediately after the broadcast, public opinion in Taiwan strongly criticized Hwang Yu-jin, saying that he had sexually harassed Le Seraphim.

Hwang Wi-jin said on her SNS on the 28th, "Part of the broadcast was to allow the members to eat delicious food one by one, and I instinctively wanted to react when Yun-jin said that she would eat sweet potato balls. The eating process was awkward. “I didn’t want to make it happen,” he explained.

He added, "I said something that everyone could misunderstand, but what I wanted to say in my heart was, 'I'm happy to be able to share delicious food with my favorite idol.'"

The issue of ‘sexual objectification’ in the entertainment industry is not something that happened yesterday or today. Also, it is not just a domestic problem. The American comprehensive IT company 'Meta' has repeatedly posted harmful posts, including sexual harassment of female idols. Even if you report it, sexual harassment posts will be exposed. The causes include securing SNS users and generating profits by maintaining the number of clicks.

In Japan, following the fall of idol agency Johnny's, controversy recently erupted over the sexual misconduct scandal of Yoshimoto Production star Hitoshi Matsumoto. Johnny's is Japan's largest entertainment agency. He suffered from measles after the long-term child abuse case by business owner Johnny's Kitagawa was belatedly revealed. After the incident became known, the company name Johnny's itself disappeared. In addition, allegations were reported that Hitoshi Matsumoto of Japan's best comedy duo Downtown forced sexual acts on female aspiring celebrities. All three cases resulted from ‘moral laxity’ regarding sex.

Pop culture critic Ha Jae-geun said of the 'moral laxity' related to sex that is widespread around the world, "The perception that the entertainment industry is a special area different from general society has played a part in this. In general society, if you break a taboo, you are punished, but in the entertainment industry, you have to break the taboo to be free." “It is a perception that it is becoming more mature,” he said, adding, “The entertainment industry needs to become more mature.”

Seo Hyeon-deok, a popular culture critic, pointed out, “It appears that our entertainment industry must be deeply aware of sexual harassment and sex scandals.”

Reporter Junho Yoon, Ten Asia delo410@tenasia.co.kr