Stars feel pressure to bring abusive content creators to justice
By Kwak Yeon-soo
With the increasing popularity of secondary content derived from K-pop, writing, sharing and reading fan fiction featuring idols has become common in fandom.
However, risks lurk in such creative works as seen in a recent presidential petition.
Sexualizing K-pop singers in fan fiction caused a stir earlier this year after an anonymous petitioner filed a complaint on the Cheong Wa Dae website, calling for harsh punishment for “real person slash” fiction (RPS) involving underage male idols
RPS is a subgenre of fan fiction depicting same-sex relationships involving real people, rather than fictional characters. In Korea, RPS first became popular in the 1990s with the rise of first-generation idols H.O.T. and Sechs Kies.
Over the decades, fans have continued to share RPS fan fiction with other enthusiasts in the form of writings, drawings, memes and videos. Many depict romantic, and often erotic tension between K-pop idols of the same sex. Some involve sex acts as well as exploitive scenes of rape and other sex crimes.
Calling such content “too raunchy,” the petitioner argued “RPS is a type of sex crime. It features pervert-like sexual intercourse and rape of male K-pop idols in an unspeakably explicit manner, and countless male celebrities have been sexualized through it.”
In two weeks, the petition gained over 213,000 signatures, obligating the presidential office to release an official response, as it must for any petition that receives over 200,000 responses.
Rappers Son Simba, BewhY and Rohann expressed fury over fan fiction putting celebrities in sexual scenarios without their approval.
“Is it true that there are people who collectively cover up or even support fiction and art that feature pervert-like sexual intercourse involving real people who are forced into impossible situations?” Son wrote on Instagram.
Strangely, K-pop boy bands have remained silent as they are worried that getting involved in the controversy could make it worse, harming their reputation or even damaging their careers.
“Speaking on behalf of entertainment companies, we don't want this to emerge as a public issue because we have the most to lose, financially and reputation-wise. Fans are in a position to dictate to idols what to do ― because fandom can make or break their careers,” said Park Chan-jae, head of record label Enterarts.
“Idols and celebrities make their living through the love and attention from their fans and it's difficult to take action against the matter. Although we disagree with RPS being part of fan culture, we value fans despite their gender identity or sexual orientation.”
On Jan. 19, Rep. Ha Tae-keung of the opposition People Power Party filed a request for a police investigation into RPS creators and distributors with Yeongdeungpo Police Station.
Labeling RPS creators and distributors as perpetrators of sex crimes, Ha wrote on Facebook, “RPS is not a conflict between men and women, but a problem between perpetrators and victims. Those who produce and distribute RPS content should be punished to raise awareness about this new type of sex crime.”
Following his request, the National Police Agency announced on Monday it would start an investigation. What was once accepted as harmless idol culture has become an ethical problem, opening up discussion on whether it can be seen as a sex crime.
Kang Jin-seok, an entertainment lawyer at law firm Yulwon, said it would be tricky to charge RPS creators and distributors for defamation or contempt because there is no precedent and the situation may differ case by case.
“Whether or not it can be labeled as defamation or contempt depends on the subject specificity and the degree of lewdness in RPS. Simply portraying sex scenes in fiction, art and memes is not enough. It should be specific enough so that the person who's been sexually objectified can figure out that the story or counterfeit photo is about them,” he said.
Kang also pointed out that creators can be can be prosecuted for RPS under the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes.
“If RPS content is believable enough and further distorts the truth about the person objectified in its content, then the court may rule in favor of the plaintiff and judge RPS as a sex crime,” he said.
According to the Act's Article 13, “a person who sends another person any words, sounds, writings, pictures, images or other things that may cause a sense of sexual shame or aversion by telephone, mail, computer or other means of communication, with intent to arouse or satisfy his/her own or the other person's sexual urges, shall be punished by imprisonment with labor for not more than two years or by a fine not exceeding five million won” ($4,520).
Experts said the public should openly debate the level of seriousness or moral culpability of RPS.
“RPS involves sexually exploiting a person rather than consuming a celebrity's music. If the degree of obscenity is grave, it should be subject to punishment rather than viewed as fan culture,” culture critic Ha Jae-keun said.
“Given that there are underage victims and the people directly involved may feel insulted by the content, we need to review the situation and legislate a relevant law.”