Government trying to correct the wrongs in the Entertainment Industry
We, as a society, could say that we improved a lot over the last hundred or so years in terms of equal treatment. In a lot of countries we've (legally, although it still exists) gotten rid of slavery, racism, sexism, etc. However, we still see a lot of people suffering from unequal and unfair treatment, mostly caused by those that have the power and authority to do so. For example, good old Bob Barker, long time host of The Price is Right, had various sexual harassment cases against him, and allegedly frequently threatened models on the show that they could either sleep with him or lose their job. When employees of the show testified against him in court, they were fired as well... except they technically didn't get fired; their contract simply didn't get renewed. The girls who were on the show had to negotiate their contract every week. There's a lot of stories like this in Tinseltown (Hollywood). The entertainment industry in general seems to be in this same old black cloud no matter which country we talk about, it appears. But it seems the Korean government actually decided to take a step at the right direction, possibly influenced by controversy involving the late Jang Ja Yun, trying to get to the bottom of this problem within the entertainment industry. The first thing they did was take a poll / ask the people in the industry if they have ever been wronged.
On October 5th, senator Byun disclosed a report from the Korean Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism entitled "Survey on work environment and related concerns of mass culture artists." 60 Actors and actresses, 80 music artists and 60 technicians took part in this survey, and the results look pretty grim. 36.3% of actors (both male and female) experienced physical or verbal assault, while 32% were asked for bribes and 32% were asked to partake in unwanted drinking. It was worse for actresses, of whom 43.8% were asked to partake in unwanted drinking, 37.5% experienced physical or verbal assault, 25% experienced unwanted physical contact and 12.5% received "sponsorship" offers. By Sponsorship, it means those in power who support actresses, financially and also using their connections and influences (to get important roles), in exchange for sex. Many famous stars such as Ivy and Song Yoon Ah confessed to turning down such offers, while some female celebrities who seem to receive a lot of media attention compared to their popularity are rumored to have very powerful sponsors. 36.8% artists involuntarily surrendered copyrights, and 31.6% had to perform at times involuntarily. Overall, 59.2% of those that were surveyed did not receive full wages or received the full wages late.
Hopefully this survey helps the issues that are to be addressed as soon as possible in order to improve the conditions of artists. It seems like it will help the artists in profit division, general treatment, and standard labor contracts. Instead of turning a blind eye to it, the government is actually addressing some of these issues. Also, the issue concerning minor artists came up as well. Although average age of artists have dropped significantly in recent years, relevant sections of the law hasn't been revised to protect those that are minors. This could end up in exploitation of under aged artists. With sterner rules and more regulations, hopefully things will change for the better.
but i hope the government can help 
06 Oct 2009 - 10:47 AM
1. Bl@z!nAzN
1st, YEs Korea Gov steppin up! =]