The Phenomenon Of Cancel Culture In The World Of Pesohor: So Aib In Korea, In Indonesia It's A Blessing

Cancel culture is a boycott or rejection of a public figure who is caught in a scandal. (Unsplash/Markuscurer)

JAKARTA - The South Korean entertainment world is being rocked by unpleasant news, following the death of actor Lee Sun Kyun last week. Lee Sun Kyun is suspected of being depressed because she has to face cancel culture in the midst of a case of alleged drug abuse.

Citing The Korean Times, the police found the actor who starred in the Oscar-winning film, Parasite, in his car near his unconscious condition near Waryong Park, Wednesday (12/27/2023). Lee Sun Kyun allegedly committed suicide by inhaling charcoal briquettes found in the front passenger seat.

The 48-year-old actor's suicide occurred when he was caught in a case of alleged drug use that entangled him recently. This allegation is reinforced by the confession of his wife who is also an actress, Jeon Hye Jin, finding a will left by Lee.

Based on Chosun's TV report, Lee Sun Kyun wrote a message to his wife, 'I can't do anything anymore, there's no other way than this.' In the same letter, Lee also wrote 'A penalty for violating advertising contracts and films is huge.'

Before he breathed his last, Lee was undergoing a series of investigations into alleged drug use even though in the test he tested negative. Following the scandal that befell him, Lee's career struggled including the cancellation of his advertising contract and his resignation from a film project.

The cancellation of a number of work contracts requires Lee Sun Kyun to pay a penalty of 10 billion South Korean won or equivalent to Rp118.924 billion.

Seeing what happened to Lee Sun Kyung, he experienced cancel culture due to allegations of drug abuse. Cancel culture is a common thing that is found when those involved in the South Korean entertainment world make mistakes.

Citing the official website of the Ministry of Finance, cancel culture is a practice that is currently popular in the media by trying to gather support to cancel someone if he has done or stated something offensive or unpleasant.

Meanwhile, from The New York Post, it said, cancel culture is a phenomenon to invite people to reject someone, brands, events, and films.

Simply put, cancel culture in the world of Korean entertainment is a form of punishment for public figures who are caught in a scandal. Or in other words, cancel culture is a boycott or rejection of the public figure involved in the scandal because it is considered not to set a good example for fans.

Sonh Jae Ryong, sociologist at Kyung Hee University, admits that Korean idols sometimes become victims of high expectations of society where rules and compliance are highly appreciated. Due to high expectations for public figures, Koreans tend to be less tolerant of moral or ethical mistakes.

"Because celebrities stand out and attract public attention, people tend to be less tolerant of any moral or ethical violation. Koreans have a strong tendency to take sides as a group, placing those from different social groups on opposite sides," Song Jae Ryong said.

But in the end, cancel culture is like a double-edged knife. On the one hand, cancel culture can be a'rem' for celebrities so that they will try to maintain attitudes and behavior because social impacts violate people's norms are very large.

But on the other hand, cancel culture can make it difficult for the public figure himself to rise after his name and career is polluted by the scandal, although it is not necessarily true that negative action was carried out. Cancel culture can also have psychological effects on recipients to cause depression like that experienced by Lee Sun Kyun last week.

Others in other Korea are also in Indonesia. If in the country of Ginseng, artists who are caught in a scandal can experience widespread rejection, work contracts are even canceled, in contrast to celebrities in Indonesia. Let alone being canceled culture, artists in Indonesia who are affected by the scandal are deliberately given a stage.

One of the newest examples is when Ammar Zoni, who was recently arrested again for drug use. This is the third time Ammar Zoni has been arrested for a similar case. Irish Bella's husband even had wara-wiri on his podcast after being released from the second time. Or the case that hit vocalist Last Child, Virgoun, who was caught cheating on his wife but still performing everywhere.

Even last September, news emerged about the discourse that the artist Wulan Guritno would be appointed as an online antijudicial ambassador. Even though at that time, Wulan Guritno and a number of celebrities would be investigated because he was suspected of participating in promoting the gambling site.

Wacana menjadikan Wulan sebagai duta antijudionlinedigas oleh Menteri Komunikasi dan Informatika (Menkominfo) Budi Arie. Ia mengatakan alasan menjadikan Wulan Guritno menjadi dunta antijudi online karena ketidaktahuan si artist mempromosikan situs judi yang dianggap sebagai gim.

Seeing the large number of country celebrities who suddenly were appointed as ambassadors after making mistakes, it was quite intriguing. Public Policy Observer Trubus Rahardiansyah also spoke up.

According to him, the discourse of the Minister of Communication and Information Budi Arie to make Wulan Guritno an antijudial ambassador is a wrong step. This idea is considered to be able to hurt the general public.

"This is a counter-productive policy, because if everyone who commits a crime and from that crime is promoted, then in the end the law does not apply. People who violate the law must be punished, do not even be made ambassadors," Trubus said while talking to VOI, Wednesday (6/9/2023).

"This hurts the general public, who may not be beautiful, not rich, not famous. The government should not be indiscriminate and there should be no discrimination in enforcement. It's clear why he violated online gambling, his punishment should be severe," Trubus said.