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| ▲ This photo, captured from MBN's 'Burning Trotman,' shows Hwang Young-woong. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ This photo, provided by Netflix, shows 'Physical: 100.' (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ This photo, provided by ENA, shows variety show 'I'm SOLO.' (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
SEOUL, Mar. 3 (Yonhap) – Controversies surrounding the cast in variety shows featuring ordinary people including assault, continues to hamper the program about audition, survival, dating.
According to broadcasters on Friday, entertainment programs featuring ordinary people, led by auditions in recent years, have drawn attention with fresh characters showing unaffected images toward their own desperate goals.
However, unlike celebrities, ordinary people whose past activities have not been closely verified have become a "risk" for the program as their past history, disputes with acquaintances, and privacy are repeatedly exposed during and after the broadcast.
Hwang Young-woong, who was considered a strong candidate for MBN's "Burning Trotman," admitted and apologized for assaulting an acquaintance at a drinking party in the past, and voluntarily dropped out of the program as another suspicion of assault continued.
As a result, the "Top 7" of the "Burning Trotman" will hold the final competition, not the "Top 8." The program's reputation has also been hit directly by intensifying the confrontation over Hwang Young-woong's departure, and the fairness and credibility of the audition are also shaking as Hwang Young-woong, who was No. 1 in the first round of the finals, is missing.
Netflix's variety show "Physical: 100," which received worldwide attention, was also put on hold as three cast members were embroiled in a series of controversies.
Kim Da-young, a cast member identified as the perpetrator of school violence, said she did verbally abuse her juniors during her school days, but did not assault them using physical violence, and the former national team athlete was caught by police on charges of assaulting her girlfriend last month. Another cast member was reportedly sent to the prosecution in November last year on charges of threatening his ex-girlfriend.
It's not just the assault controversy. In the ENA love entertainment show "I'm SOLO," the ex-lover's revelation that she had sexually transmitted diseases from a male cast member heated the Internet.
The controversy fell into confusion as the ex-lover further disclosed the results of the sexually transmitted disease test after the party explained that the revelation was not true.
The reason why the disclosure of ordinary people in variety shows continues is that they exert as much influence as celebrities. That's how much responsibility is required.
Among the ordinary people who actually appeared in variety shows, they are often reborn as celebrities. They have fan meetings and as their awareness increases, they receive help in many ways in their main job.
Koo Jung-woo, a sociology professor at Sungkyunkwan University, said, "Even ordinary people are required to have a high sense of ethics and morality if they work on TV and OTT (online video service) that many people pay attention to."
Kim Won-tae, an assistant professor at Seoul National University's Social Development Institute, said, "Victims expose politicians, celebrities, and media emerged people that have not been revealed due to social power relations. This means social criticism, not personal resentment or revenge."
The production team also knows this social perception, so it goes through a verification process for the cast in the casting stage. However, there is a limit as it relies on the answers of the parties. The producers of "Burning Trotman" and "Physical: 100" have also expressed difficulties in grasping the detailed past of the individual cast members, who have been controversial.
Ha Jae-geun, a pop culture critic, said, "The cast needs to be truthfully verified and increase their responsibility for broadcasting," adding, "The appearance of deceiving the past and being disadvantaged when shown on the show raises social awareness."
"Since the production team is not an investigative agency, it is impossible in principle to look into private parts," he said. "However, we need to find out the facts and deal sternly with the problematic parts to prevent similar controversy in the future."
(This article is translated from Korean to English by Yunhee Cho.)
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