Future of K-pop sex video players
By Chang Se-moon
The March 15 article in this newspaper by Jung Hae-myoung states that the four popular K-pop boy bands ― BIGBANG, F.T. Island, CNBLUE and HIGHLIGHT ― may have to reshuffle their members, because some of them were found to have been in a group chat room that shared illegally taped sex videos.
The article further states that CNBLUE member Lee Jong-hyun was not only “one of the group chat participants who viewed the illegal videos,” but also asked Jung Joon-young to “Please send me girls,” and added “Any bitch, a beautiful one.” Singer Jung Joon-young is the one “who secretly taped sex videos of women he had met.”
I am not here to judge these talented young people. I am here to tell you that I am one of those who received the sex video that allegedly was showing sex acts by Jung and a female partner.
It is amazing that I received the tape. I do not live in Seoul. I do not even live in Korea. I am not young. I live in a retirement community in the United States. I do not subscribe to any shady websites. I have an account with Facebook but am not an active participant.
I have an active account at LinkedIn with over 10,000 followers or connects, but my LinkedIn connects are all professionals who have nothing to do with sex tapes. No, I did not web-search the tape either, because sex tapes of K-pop players are nowhere near the list of my interests.
Right at the time I was reading The Korea Times article on those tapes, I had an opportunity to go to the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., to watch the opera, “Faust.” The story of Faust goes like this.
In the 16th century in Germany, an aging scholar Faust regrets that all his studies brought him nothing, and caused him to miss all the good life and, especially, love. Faust asks for infernal guidance, meaning guidance from a devil. Faust agrees to devil's service in exchange for his own in Hell.
When Faust tries to drink poison, the poison magically transforms him from the old doctor to a handsome young man about to join the fun-filled real world, just like the K-pop chat room.
In the new world, Valentin, who is about to go to war, has a sister named Marguerite and leaves her to his close friend Siebel. When Faust joins this new world, he meets Marguerite and falls in love. Now Marguerite has two admirers, Siebel and Faust. One day, Siebel leaves a bouquet for Marguerite, while Faust asks the devil to look for a better gift.
The devil brings in a decorated box containing exquisite jewelry and leaves it on Marguerite's doorstep, next to Siebel's flowers. Marguerite also misses Faust, and is captivated by the jewels. Soon, Marguerite and Faust become lovers and Marguerite becomes pregnant.
Apparently, the deal that Faust made with his devil requires Faust to have fun, but no long-term commitment. Faust abandons Marguerite who is pregnant with his baby. Faust has all the fun and leaves his girl, just as K-pop boys had all the fun and left the girls.
In the cold days of winter, Marguerite nurses the baby alone. When Valentin returns from war and finds Faust to have abandoned her, he challenges Faust to a duel. During the sword fight that is almost equally matched, the devil holds Valentin's arms so that Faust can kill Valentin, and he does.
Totally devastated with the baby with no father, and with the death of her brother, Marguerite kills her baby and goes to prison where she is doomed for execution.
Faust begins to realize how much he loves Marguerite. Faust asks the devil to take him to the prison, and sees Marguerite. As dawn approaches, footsteps of prison guards and the executioner get closer. The devil warns Faust and Marguerite that there is not much time for both to escape from the prison.
Importantly, the devil reminds Faust that Faust will die, if he saves Marguerite from execution. Faust is determined to save Marguerite, even if it means his own death. Marguerite, however, refuses to leave prison and faces execution. When the walls of the prison open, Marguerite's soul rises to heaven. Faust falls to his knees and prays.
After I viewed the K-pop sex video, I asked one of my friends whether the boy and the girl in the now notorious video could ever get married with decent partners and live happily. My friend answered: Times have changed in Korea. If you ask those questions, you will be branded as being old-fashioned.
Faust changed and was willing to give his own life to save his love from execution. Hopefully, those K-pop boys and girls in the sex video can also change and become faithful life partners of someone decent.
Chang Se-moon (changsemoon@yahoo.com) is the director of the Gulf Coast Center for Impact Studies.