'Donation is not obligatory'

A student ties a yellow ribbon to a banner, installed next to a donation box, in tribute to the victims of the Sewol disaster, at Kangwon National University in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, on April 25. / Yonhap

Some stars rapped for making zero donation over Sewol disaster

By Park Si-soo

Donating money or other valuable materials to help troubled people is a heartwarming act that deserves praise.

In this vein, numerous Korean entertainers giving donations to the victims of the deadly ship sinking in waters off the country’s southern coast near Jindo on April 16 should be given due acknowledgement.

Regrettably, the reality differs. Numerous netizens are showing a wide gap in recognizing the stars’ donations online. Entertainers making hefty donations are described as “heroes” with warm hearts and profound sympathy, while those making relatively small donations are criticized and ridiculed, even being described as “stingy” or “cold-hearted.” What’s more, there is a verbal onslaught against the stars whose names have yet to make it to the donors’ list.

Some people are even casting suspicion about the stars’ donation itself, insisting everything they do is in line with their self-promotion or image-making campaigns.

Entertainment industry insiders say such skepticism may be attributable to some obscure entertainers caught in the past trying to appeal to the public with sugarcoated donations. But observers say such sweeping criticism is unwarranted.

Big donation means big sympathy?

Lee Soo-man, a singer-turned-business mogul who owns the country’s biggest K-pop musician incubator SM Entertainment — which represents Girls’ Generation, EXO, Super Junior and TVXQ to name a few — donated 1 billion won ($969,200) to the Korea National Red Cross on April 28, asking that the money be used to “comfort those who are in pain due to the ferry disaster.” It’s believed to be the biggest donation made with regard to the deadly accident that claimed more than 200 lives, mostly high school students on a field trip.

“As a parent who has lived to help grow dreams and share hope with celebrities who are like my sons and daughters, my heart ached so much whenever I thought about the victims and their families, who weren’t even able to carry out their dreams due to this tragedy,” he said in a statement. “I will continuously do my best to find ways to support and help the families share the pain.” The Red Cross said the money will be used for the families of the victims.

The hefty donation came three days after Yang Hyun-seok, singer-turned-CEO of the country’s No.2 entertainment agency YG — which represents Psy, Big Bang and 2NE1 — made a donation of 500 million won for the same purpose, the second biggest in scale. The money was donated through YG Entertainment’s public campaign, WITH.

“As a parent myself with kids, I have fallen into great anguish while keeping updated with the Sewol accident and spilled tears every time I watched the news,” he said in a statement. “There are probably no words in this world that can console a family that has lost a child.”

Many stars, including actor Song Seung-hun, and actresses Jun Ji-hyun and Lee Mi-yeon, donated 100 million won to the Red Cross, Community Chest of Korea or other charity groups to help those affected by the accident.

Apparently mindful of his smaller donation of 10 million won, Lee Joon of K-pop boy band MBLAQ said, “I’m sorry for making a small donation.”

Other entertainers confirmed joining this campaign, including actors Kim Soo-hyun, Kim Bo-sung, Joo Sang-wook and Seol Gyeong-gu; actresses Ha Ji-won, Song Yoon-ah, Oh Yeon-seo and Park Shin-hye; singers U-ie, Yoon Jong-shin, Cho Kyu-hyun of Super Junior, Tiger JK, Lee Joon-ho of 2PM and Suzy of miss A; and comedians Kim Gu-ra, Kim Guk-jin, Kang Ho-dong, Lee Hui-jae and Kim Byung-man. Many of them refused to say how much money they donated. Observers said there are many more entertainers who have given, but they didn’t want their names to be exposed to the media.

'Where is Yoo Jae-suk?'

This donation march of entertainers prompted Korea’s top comedian Yoo Jae-suk to face an unprecedented image crisis.

He has stayed at the top of stardom for years thanks to his witty remarks, leadership in programs and, above all, kind and warmhearted image. But the absence of his name on the list of donors provoked many netizens, some of whom later launched a negative online campaign against him.

Yoo’s annual income is unknown, but allegations have it that he earns more than 2 billion won. According to news reports, he, along with six other entertainers, paid condolences at a joint memorial altar set up in Ansan Hwarang Park, Gyeonggi Province, on April 25. They collectively made a donation there, but refused to say how much.

Earlier, a netizen claiming to be a big fan of Yoo, wrote, “While reading news stories about entertainers’ donations, one name came to my mind: Yoo Jae-suk. Where is he? As far as I know, he is rich, but his name is not found on the list (of donors). Is he a penny pincher and stingy in donation?”

Another netizen echoed that view in a posting that reads, “Mr. Yoo, I’m waiting for news that you made a donation. Many of your fans are high school students.”

In fact, after the controversy erupted, search traffic related to his name, income and vehicle surged, according to officials of Naver and Daum.

“Donation is a very tricky issue to deal with,” an entertainment agency official said. “If an entertainer makes it, people want to know how much money he or she donated. When the amount is lower than expected, people unleash criticism; while if it is big enough, they claim it’s done with dirty intentions attached.”