South Korea's Failure To Protect Women Through The Goo Hara Case
JAKARTA - Sunday, November 24, K-pop fans and netizens received another unpleasant news from the South Korean entertainment industry. Goo Hara, a former member of the KARA group as well as an actress, was found dead at her home in Cheongdam, Seoul at 6 pm KST.
Hara was first found lifeless by her friend who then reported it to the police. Two days earlier, the woman born in 1991 uploaded a photo of herself in bed via Instagram. He wrote down a description; "Good night".
Hara has experienced a steep road in the entertainment industry over the past few years. In late 2018, Hara's ex-boyfriend Choi Jong Beom - a hairdresser - reported him on charges of physical abuse. Instead Hara reported her ex-boyfriend on charges of sexual harassment and assault.
After the investigation process, it turned out that Jong Beom had secretly taken the sex video and nude photos of Hara. He had threatened to distribute the video to the public. After undergoing trial several times, Jong Beom was given a one year and six month probation period after previously being threatened with three years in prison for the case. In May this year, he reportedly opened a new salon business.
After failing to report Jong Beom regarding a sexual assault case, Hara attempted suicide in her apartment. A few hours before doing this, Hara uploaded the Instastory series with the writing; "Goodbye". Later, the manager came and found the apartment was already filled with smoke. Fortunately, Hara was saved.
Hara also received a lot of negative treatment after deciding not to continue her career in South Korea and choosing to continue in Japan. After Sulli's recent departure, many netizens were worried about Hara's condition. But he uploaded a photo and said he would live for Sulli. The fans are calm.
Hara may not be the most influential person in the entertainment industry, but she is an idol who deserves to be admired. Her courage in showing a woman who is quite vocal and has the desired appearance are some of the things we can remember from this Gwangju-born woman. Her friend, Sulli, also shares the same vision as Hara. This can be seen from the Instagram uploads and the interviews they both conducted.
Not yet a year passed, the South Korean entertainment industry had to lose its stars of the entertainment industry. The negative reactions thrown at them were endless. In addition, neither agencies nor the government have tightened protection for women in South Korea.
The country is still filled with mysogyny, a term for those who hate women. South Korea still doesn't equalize women with men. According to the World Economic Forum's global inequality report, South Korea is ranked 116th out of 144 countries. The graph released by Statista shows that South Korea is a country that has a large salary gap between men and women
(Photo: Statistica Graph)
Music videos showing mysogyny have also appeared a lot, including Gentleman from PSY and Who's Your Mama from Park Jin Young or JYP. A number of forums for men who share photos and videos of women are also scattered around the internet, leading to women running the #MeToo campaign by writing #MyLifeIsNotYourPorn (My life is not porn for you). This article leads to the circulation of Molka, where a hidden camera is placed in a toilet, school, a woman's house which is then uploaded to the internet.
According to a survey conducted by Womenlink on 1257 women aged from adolescence to 70 years. Nine out of ten women think women are not treated equally with men in South Korea and discrimination occurs mostly at home. According to the Straits Times, 23 percent of the women who responded by not saying they experienced sexual discrimination at home, 15 percent said they were discriminated against when driving or using public transportation, 14 percent getting it at school.
Still in the entertainment industry, there are countless discriminatory treatments received by female artists who appear on shows. Goo Hara and Sulli, who are seen to be vocal in voicing their choices, often make them targets for insults through forums and social media accounts. In fact, South Korea does not yet have ITE regulations or laws relating to hate comments or negative actions that have occurred.
The Sulli Law Bill, which was announced a few days after Sulli's death, has yet to be updated. Meanwhile, Hara's death made several artists who were originally going to release music or dramas such as EXO, NCT 127, MAMAMOO have to cancel the plan. Some of Hara's friends like Heechul even 'locked' their Instagram account and actress Im Soo Hyang canceled her attendance at an event.
The low image of women and acts of discrimination that often occur in the South Korean entertainment industry must be changed for a better entertainment industry. Both the government and industry players need to change conditions in order to create a good entertainment atmosphere. Have a good rest, Goo Hara.