Tag Archives: justice

[TRANS] 140610 Woman Who Threatens Park Yoochun With Personal Information Leak Is Given A 10 Month Prison Sentence

Posted on by
1

chunnielawsuitjailforculprit

A woman in her thirties who threatened to leak information about the personal life of JYJ’s Park Yoochun (28) has been given a prison sentence.

On the 10th, Judge Han Sung Soo of the Seoul Central District Courts sentenced Ms. Kim (30) to 10 months in prison.

The courts stated, “The damages amounted to 100 million Won and the two sides did not reach a settlement,” and “The nature of the crime is severe as the defendant deceived the victims, and negatively affected the image of the celebrity and entertainment agency.”

However, the Courts did take into account that the defendant returned the money she took, as well the fact that the details of what was saved on the mobile phone device in question were not released.

Last February, Ms. Kim found the mobile phone of one of Park Yoochun’s close acquaintances in front of a building in Chungdam-dong. She then called Mr. Park and his agency and threatened to, “Release the pictures and texts saved on the mobile phone.”

Ms. Kim met with the owner of the mobile phone, who was a manager in Mr. Park’s entertainment agency, and demanded 100 million Won in return for not releasing any of the information contained on the device. Ms. Kim was soon caught after receiving the money, and was handed over to the Courts to be tried for her crimes.

Source: [kmib news]

Translated & Shared by: dongbangdata.net

JYJ Fantalk Source: dongbangdata.net

Share This

[TRANS] 120104 JYJ, Fugitives Of K-Pop Who Refused To Be ‘Slaves’, What Will Their Fate Be…

Posted on by
1

[TRANS] 120104 JYJ, Fugitives Of K-Pop Who Refused To Be ‘Slaves’, What Will Their Fate Be…

Written by melodiamuse

T/N: PLEASE READ BEFORE READING THE EDITORIAL
There are parts in this editorial that some people may not agree with and may deem to be provocative. Please take these points into consideration while reading this editorial:

  • Editorials are written from the personal perspective of the author. It does not directly represent the opinions and/or beliefs of the translator. HOWEVER, this not mean that we don’t agree with anything within the article, it just means we may not agree with everything.
  • Great care has been taken to retain the original intention and voice of the author (I am being totally serious here. I started this article at around 5:30 and it is now 11. Calculating in my time for dinner and the breaks I’ve been taking, it’s till a solid 4 hours minimum) which includes word choice and retaining the original formatting.
  • Nothing has been bolded except for the original subtitles as we have been told in the past that bolding may reflect upon our personal opinions.
  • And as always, don’t shoot the messenger.

———————————————————————————————–

[Lee Dong Yeon’s K-pop Odyssey] K-pop’s Amazing Fandom
 -Written by Professor Lee Dong Yeon Of the Korea National University of Arts

A K-pop craze is at its peak these days. In cities such as Tokyo, Beijing, Bangkok, even Paris, London and New York, K-pop is rising as a global pop genre. Broadcasting programs and internet media are raving that K-pop has become a global icon that showcases the cultural superiority of Korea to the world. But how much do we really know about K-pop? In what conditions did K-pop emerge into the limelight of global pop? How is K-pop music made, and how is it consumed? Is K-pop sustainable?

The K-pop we know isn’t real K-pop. This is because K-pop only deals with music from idols. It is also because the outside and inside of K-pop are cut off from each other. It is because international K-pop fans and domestic music fans see K-pop from different perspectives. K-pop is like Samsung, that has become a global corporation through its non-union myth. Though the idol groups have become global stars by working hard, the outlet for them to talk about their own troubles and pains has been blocked. Like Samsung, the global corporation without a union, K-pop is a global pop genre with no freedom and unlimited competition.

Though it’s true that there exists a global craze for K-pop, it’s been exaggerated by the media. Why is that? It’s because the media has a collusive relationship with entertainment production companies. More than 20 Korean press companies came together to cover the SM Town Live in LA concert in 2010. Of course, all expenses were paid for by SM. The day after the performance, a flood of articles praising K-pop came from the reporters who enjoyed the concert for free, and thanks to this, the stocks of Lee Soo Man, SM’s largest shareholder, shot up by 6 billion Won in the blink of an eye. Lee Soo Man’s stocks currently are valued at over 200 billion Won while Yang Hyeon Seok’s stocks from YG Entertainment, which went public last year, are valued at over 140 billion Won. The Korea Tourist Service, Inc. funded SM with 300 million Won for the 2011 SM Town Live in Paris concerts. K-pop has dominated the domestic market and has set its sights on the world with highly concentrated aid from the media and the government.

K-pop is a universal phenomenon, created by global fans who like music from idols in their teens to their 20s. It’s become a global sensation, not because it’s recognized for its musical talent, but more because it’s filling the gap left by idol pop of the past in the global music market. K-pop music creates unusual music by taking into consideration the trends of American pop and incorporating great dance moves, and an ironic situation has come about where third-party music markets are now imitating K-pop in return.

Professor Lee Dong Yeon of the Korea National University of Arts, who has played a big role in the creation of the Korea Pop Music Awards and has approached Korea’s pop music in a serious perspective through works such as ‘Idol’, has begun a series to explain K-pop. This series plans to delve into the secrets behind the ins and outs, the music and its industrial nature, and the creation and consumption of K-pop. This 10 part series will greet readers on a weekly basis and the first topic is JYJ, the perfect representation of the present state of K-pop.

▲JYJ made the problematic practices behind Korean idols’ contracts, which have even been compared to ‘slavery’, an issue in society once more.

JYJ are Exiled

JYJ are outcast of K-pop, fugitives. They are the Homo Sacer of K-pop, scared fugitives. According to Roman Law, Homo Sacer refers to a person who has been exiled, killed by someone, or erased from society and has his citizen rights taken away. But JYJ are neither political fugitives nor social rejects. We can’t make the conclusion that JYJ are as misfortunate as the lonely and worn out political refugees since they are still top stars in K-pop who have a large fandom. But they have the characteristics of exiled refugees and fugitives as they are unable to do what they wish in their own country.

JYJ are currently unable to appear on broadcasted programs like most celebrities. The only broadcasted program they’ve been in as a group was the airing of their congratulatory performance at the Daegu IAAF World Championships in September, 2011. Since leaving TVXQ two years ago, they have released official albums and sold many of them both domestically and internationally, but they have not received a single award at any domestic music awards ceremonies. Considering the fact that their first two albums ‘The Beginning’ and ‘In Heaven’ have each sold over 350,000 copies regardless of the deteriorating state of the album market, it’s almost impossible to understand why they have not even been named in nominee lists for Korea’s music awards ceremonies. Looking back on the fact that JYJ were named honorary ambassadors of the ‘Jeju 7 Wonders of the Natural World Nomination’ but had their performance cancelled for doubtful reasons, and the fact that their scheduled appearance on KBS ‘Music Bank’ never happened, we can come to the conclusion that there is either someone who is systematically hindering their activities or a large-scale interest group that has been working together to silence JYJ.

JYJ’s fans state that the people behind this hindrance is SM Entertainment, JYJ’s former agency. This is because they firmly believe that the only group of people capable of putting a stop to JYJ’s domestic broadcasted activities are SM Entertainment, who have been dissatisfied with the trio’s actions from the start. JYJ publicly exposed the unclear income division and unlawful nature of their contract with SM, and put the entertainment agency, that had been doing so well, in a bind. JYJ’s fans believe that SM is hindering JYJ’s activities as much as possible to exemplify what becomes of those who betray them, and to plant a sense of silent obedience in the minds of the idol groups currently in SM. It’s a plot that seems to have come straight from the life of a gangster. Even if a fatal blow was struck on TVXQ, the agency’s greatest idol group, and their activities, SM seems to have come to the conclusion that they can use their production power and authority to raise their current trainees, who are counting the days till they make their own debuts, to TVXQ’s high position. To SM, TVXQ are the filial sons who showed everyone the might of the company’s entertainment production power, but they are also the concubine’s child, who can be discarded at any moment.

SM’s Erroneous Judgment

There are two reasons why SM believed that they could incapacitate JYJ by putting a break on the group’s activities. One is that SM believes that, as the most powerful idol group production company of K-pop,  they will be able to affect JYJ’s broadcasted activities. Due to the nature of Korean pop culture, it is impossible to be a hit in the industry without any broadcasted activities. The role that SM idol groups have in cable and major broadcasted channels is one of great power and presence. More members from these groups appear as regulars on music programs, variety shows and radio programs than members from any other idol group from any other entertainment agency. Even if direct pressure isn’t being applied by SM, broadcasting companies can’t help but tread on glass as SM is home to many of their programs’ regulars, and they can’t properly consider allowing JYJ to appear on their programs without SM’s tacit approval.The only reason why JYJ were able to appear on KBS during the closing ceremony of the ’2011 Daegu IAAF World Championships’ was because the program wasn’t under the entertainment sector. Though the broadcasting companies claim that they can’t allow JYJ to appear on their shows because of their lawsuit with SM, this argument has lost its persuasive power as the Courts have already laid down the verdict that SM’s exclusive contract with TVXQ was unlawful. Also, it has been reported that the Fair Trade Commission received a petition stating that SM was hindering JYJ’s activities, and is currently preparing to impose hundreds of millions of Won in fines as they have found proof of these hindrances through an investigation.

The second reason is that SM probably came to the conclusion that JYJ would not be able to secure a proper management system that levels up to the one they had as TVXQ. To be popular both domestically and internationally, idol groups require, not only talent, but a systematic management system that will take care of them. Idol groups require a large staff for music production, choreography, wardrobe choice and scheduling. SM seemed to have believed that in a sitaution where broadcasted activities were difficult to obtain, it would be close to impossible for JYJ to succeed without a powerful support system from an agency, even though they were former members of TVXQ.

But the strange thing is that JYJ are on a winning streak. Ironically, the two-member TVXQ, who are receiving full support from SM, are less active than JYJ. Even fans of the former TVXQ are fully behind JYJ’s activities and cause. When comparing the sell-out rate of concerts, popularity of showcases, album sales, activities as CF models and internet search rankings, it can be concluded that three-member JYJ are much more successful than the two-member TVXQ. Why is this happening?

▲Chairman Lee Soo Man of SM Entertainment is the representative icon of the Korean idol pop, or K-pop, success story. He is also the representative icon of idol stars’ slave contracts. 

The Definition of the Fandom

The most important factor that SM has overlooked since TVXQ’s unlawful contract controversy began was the power of fandoms. It seems as though SM believed that there would to little to no unrest within the fandom if they kept the group going under the name ‘TVXQ’, even without the three members who left. They believed that as long as they kept the name of TVXQ alive, the fans would continue to cheer at and support the name. But their predictions were off. The majority of TVXQ’s fandom began supporting JYJ’s activities. What was important to the fans was not the name itself, but what defined TVXQ. With SM distorting the trio’s just cause into greed for an independent business, and with the other two members of TVXQ writing statements that threw the blame on the trio, TVXQ’s fandom moved towards JYJ’s side. JYJ were the definition and truth of what TVXQ had been. Fans believe that though JYJ no longer call themselves TVXQ, they continue to walk down the right path that TVXQ should follow as musicians, only under a new name.

Then what does JYJ’s fandom stand for? The fans strive to be the ones who protect their favorite musicians. It is in this point that fans can be deemed selfish. Fandoms act as exclusive as they can to protect their stars. That is why this fandom wants the separation of their favorite stars and the production company that made those stars who they are now. Though it’s true that stars are able to be active in the industry because of their production companies, the fandom believes that their stars won’t disappear just because they don’t have that production company anymore. To fandoms, production companies are a necessary evil and an inconvenient truth. Though their favorite stars need a powerful production company to succeed, they do not want to see their stars placed under strict control from these companies that have gained power and wealth from the fans’ economic investments. Furthermore, if their favorite stars’ contract is unlawful, if their schedule is suicidal and if they aren’t receiving a fair division of income, production companies can’t help but become a public enemy to the fans. The fandom’s distrust in SM, TVXQ’s production company, dates back many years. With HOT and Shinhwa’s past conflicts with SM over unlawful exclusive contracts in their minds, fans lived in fear that TVXQ could hit a snag at the height of their popularity over their own unlawful contracts.

When that fear became reality, TVXQ’s fandom chose to side with justice over the name itself. They created a base camp to support the three members of TVXQ and declared war on SM. With detailed logic and substantial proof, they explained why TVXQ’s contract was unlawful, why the members weren’t receiving a fair portion of their income and why SM wasn’t revealing the exact profits from TVXQ’s Japanese activities, successfully stirring up positive public sentiment. Also, they submitted petitions declaring that TVXQ’s contract was unlawful to the Fair Trade Commission and when JYJ’s broadcasted activities were blocked, submitted another petition that expressed the fans’ suspicions that SM was behind it. They were not afraid to go from being TVXQ’s fandom to JYJ’s fandom. Also, they collected donations to set up a support campaign for JYJ under the slogan, “We Support Your Youth”. In order to protest against JYJ’s inability to appear on broadcasted programs, they created satirical advertisements such as ‘You want to sing on TV? How dare you?’ and ’101 Ways to Get JYJ on TV’. While JYJ were living as fugitives, their compatriots were forming a new just republic.

The Source of Happiness, Free Will

Then, are JYJ, the fugitives of K-pop, happy? Of course they are. They are happy because of what their fandom stands for. JYJ’s source of happiness can appear to be commercial success on the outside. Since making their official debut in 2010, JYJ have been as successful as they were as TVXQ. They’ve sold at least 1.2 million albums in total with two albums, solo single albums, OST albums and concert albums. They appeared in over ten CFs, which include Lotte Duty Free, and not only have they released photobooks, an essay and DVDs, but all three members have also been appearing in movies, musicals and dramas. Including their live tour in Japan, their 2010 worldwide showcase and their 2011 world tour, they’ve held a total of 33 performances for 550,000 people. They’ve attained more economic wealth than they did as members of TVXQ, and have achieved more fame than the two-member TVXQ.

But the real reason as to why JYJ are happy lies in the fact that they are now in a free environment that puts them in control and allows them to choose their own activities. No longer do they merely wait to be told what to do by their agency, but they have now recovered their free will and are able to choose their own activities, and this is their true source of happiness. JYJ are currently not listed under any agency and are signed an agency contract with C-JeS Entertainment, giving the agency work that is required to keep the group going. Different from their days as TVXQ when they were given their schedules by SM, they have full control of what they will be doing. They now produce their own music and are expressing their wish to be called artistes. They now have the right to make the decisions on things such as holding concerts, performing as a unit and releasing albums, without having to tread on glass or get approval. Though they have become fugitives who have had to give up their nationality as members of TVXQ, they have been granted the right to make their own decisions. They’ve given up their original name and vested rights, but have in turn gained the free will to think and act as they please. Is this not the dream that many K-pop musicians should have?

▲TVXQ once released a song that had nuances of criticism against the members of JYJ.

Reuniting as TVXQ Once More?

TVXQ, who were once praised as the most perfect group in Korea’s idol group history, have now been divided into TVXQ and JYJ. This fateful split that occurred when they were at the top of their game can’t help but be a misfortune and tragedy for fans. Though it would have been best if all five members had left SM and pursued independent activities like Shinhwa, personal interests and misunderstandings got tangled up, leading to the split of the group.

Fans of the former TVXQ and even current fans of JYJ have all probably dreamt of the group’s reunion at least once. Of the two remaining members canceling their contracts, leaving SM and reuniting with the three members as TVXQ, that is. This is because there is little to no chance of JYJ returning to SM because they miss the name ‘TVXQ’. This leads to the question, will the two members of TVXQ be able to leave SM? And will they be able to exercise their power under the name TVXQ once more?

That is most probably impossible. As long as SM doesn’t give up their trademark rights to ‘TVXQ’, it will be impossible for any reunion to happen under the name ‘TVXQ’. There isn’t much of a possibility for U-Know Yunho and Choikang Changmin, the members of TVXQ who made the decision to stay in SM and have been active till now as a two-member group, to put into action the thoughts they must have had at one time of leaving SM. Even if it was possible, it would be impossible for them to use the name ‘TVXQ’. That leaves only two possible ways for the five members to get back together as TVXQ. The first is to accept the reality of a two-member TVXQ and a three-member JYJ, but to recognize JYJ as members of TVXQ in one’s heart. This means giving the three members of JYJ the actual authority and power behind the name ‘TVXQ’, though they are unable to use the name and though a two-member TVXQ exists under SM. In short, this means accepting the reality that the name and the contents of that name don’t match. In this case, JYJ will still have had to give up their original nationality as members of TVXQ, but will forever live as fugitives who are given a symbolic prestige and authority by fans.

The second way is highly unlikely, but draws the scenario in which the two remaining members of TVXQ leave SM and join JYJ. Even in this case, they will not be able to perform under the name ‘TVXQ’, but they will be able to regain their identity as members of TVXQ. This will be because all five members of TVXQ will have chosen exile together. The name doesn’t really matter. They could end up being JYJYC or YCJYJ. Though there were misunderstandings and hostility in the past, fans probably wish for the second scenario to happen. Even if it means being unable to call the five members TVXQ, and having to call them a new name of exile. As long as they are together, it doesn’t matter.

Source: [Pressian]

Translated & Shared by: dongbangdata.net

Momma’s Source: dongbangdata.net

Share This

EDITORS NOTE on JEJU ISLAND 7 WONDERS CANCELLATION

Posted on by
Reply

Editors Note on Jeju Island 7 Wonders Cancellation


Look at this picture for NII. Boys next door.

Here we go again. Another cancellation. I’m truly not surprised anymore, just plain irritated. I guess JYJ isn’t morally grounded enough to appear before the TV audience and/or the world as Jeju’s honorary ambassadors? Honorary does have a meaning, right?

Give me a break!! Which agency is responsible this time? We can probably make some accurate guesses as to the political machinations that have attempted to make this last endeavor invalid, and to be honest about it, by this stage it is just ridiculousy juvenile.

Maybe some other country wants to make a bid for the 7 Wonders nomination, maybe SM or Avex simply wants to have one of their acts represent Jeju, or maybe, just maybe, it is just a case of Mr. Nasty disease from KBS once again.

I guess we’ll just wait to see what information will be provided by C-JeS, and who will take responsibility. Until then Jaejoong, Yoochun, and Junsu–no one deserves a break more (accept maybe your brothers inside SM). You work so hard and you are dearly loved. <3 to the nth degree. 🙂 Momma Cha Addendum: There are other voices who feel as if KBS may, as has happened before, be the culprit here. There certainly is evidence from the past of KBS' tendency to schedule, receive promotional benefits, then cancel JYJ or JYJ individual member's activities. It has been affirmed through C-JeS that KBS has broken their agreement with JYJ to be the honorary ambassadors for N7W, which included the special broadcast program on the 20th of July. Has everyone become arrogant and starting to feel as if they have immunity in mistreating JYJ? This has to stop. Justice must be served. Addendum No. 2: It appears to me that KBS has something about them that others can manipulate and use for their own selfish purposes. Even if it is true that they originally asked SNSD et al to represent the N7W campaign, they also originally asked JYJ to do the same. Both had scheduling difficulties but JYJ managed to somehow answer their request and do the promotional work. JYJ got votes for Jeju from all over the world, and inspired people to want to come from all over the world for the event. This is mismanagement on the part of KBS, SM, and hopefully not C-JeS. Regardless of who did or didn't manipulate, drop the ball, etc; it just boils down to one thing, our guys were used and thrown away in the process. Junsu, we are sorry because we love you--and when you hurt, we hurt. Credit: Momma Cha @jyjfantalk.com

Letter of (Almost) Resignation: Final Confessions Part III

Posted on by
Reply

LETTER OF (ALMOST) RESIGNATION: FINAL CONFESSIONS PART III

Posted on April 25, 2011 by The JYJ Files

Letter of (Almost) Resignation: Final Confessions, Part III

In any case, as a Korean Government employee and representative, my loyalty lies first and foremost to Korea before the Korean Wave. My responsibility is to serve Koreans—including the idol singers under SM—not the Korean Wave. JYJ’s fight and plight is clearly exposing that, under the circumstances engineered by companies like SM, the latter is destroying the former. The social context of the lawsuit and the certain characteristic elements of the Kpop fandom reveal that not everything associated with the Korean Wave is beneficial to Korea or Koreans. If anything, a great many aspects of the Korean idol boom and its internationalisation have left me deeply disturbed, if not downright afraid, on behalf of our singers and citizens. As attractive as the commercialised components of it are—the slick music videos, cool fashion and complex stage performances—it is ultimately disseminating the image of Koreans as disposable products or exotic performing circus monkeys. One only needs to peruse the comments on high-traffic English-language Kpop sites to understand that this way of marketing Korean artists does not necessarily garner respect for Koreans or genuine admiration for the country’s culture—a culture that survived its unfortunate geopolitical position, wars, neo-Confucian oppression/repression, annexation, division, extreme poverty and more to accomplish in 60 years what it took Western countries 200, a rare and unique example of economic development and citizenship empowerment. Surely such a culture and its descendants deserve far more than to be regarded as a disposable Internet byte.

Not too long ago, Korean netizens were fuming over articles, blog posts and/or cartoon strips originating from Japan that portrayed Korean girl groups as little more than sex objects[i]. Koreans attacked the Japanese for their racism and low regard for Koreans, but, in all seriousness, were they in a position to level such criticism? After all, it’s not as if girl groups or idols are regarded any differently in Korea—ultimately, they are all objects, sexual or otherwise. So, who can blame the Japanese, or any other non-Korean group of ‘fans’ for that matter, when they are simply acting on what they learned from the original source? Idol singers…written off as products in Korea…and thus treated as sexual objects everywhere else. If this is the face of the Korean Wave, I daresay it’s not worth preserving. For the security and moral integrity of our citizens, this kind of Korean Wave is best dismantled.

Without Korea there would be no Korean Wave, and without Koreans there would forcibly be no Korea. Therefore, I strongly believe that a sustainable Korean Wave will have at its centre talented Koreans (along with an accountable infrastructure that cultivates and supports their well-being and potential) NOT faceless, shameless entertainment companies.

Thus, inasmuch as SM needs JYJ to fail, Korea, and more specifically the Korean music industry, needs JYJ to succeed. Every stable, thriving and/or critically acclaimed music industry has artists occupying the middle ground between the commercialised pop idols and serious indie musicians, artists who act as the fulcrum, and buffer, harmonising the two extremes. Industry size ultimately doesn’t matter. This principle applies to the music market in the United States—where the likes of Madonna, Prince and Michael Jackson were allowed to grow from teen idols to music icons with merit in their own right—as well as the music markets of Iceland and South Africa, both of which have produced Grammy Award-winning artists[ii]. Korea needs artists like JYJ. The Korean Wave needs artists like JYJ, artists with pop idol roots but who grow to become acknowledged as artists in their own right, bringing stability to the entire industry by doing so and securing its future by sticking around to cultivate the next generation of pop singer-songwriters. And so I have always believed that not only JYJ fans but also those who truly value Korea, the Korean arts and the Korean Wave will support JYJ.

What the Korean Wave ultimately needs are leaders that, first of all, truly love Korea and also respect and understand the value of Art. Art is not a Slot Machine but a complex and capricious muse that will only play second-fiddle mistress to SadoMasochistic perverts for so long. By all indications, she has already grown tired of the game with said perverts and has found a new patron that truly appreciates her. The C’est si bon show, which gathered the artists of the Korean folk music movement of the 1960s and 70s for a studio concert that was broadcast live, garnered jaw-dropping ratings[iii], even among the young, and YG Entertainment is fast rising in prominence as a model for the future of Kpop business ethics and artistic success[iv] (though given its recent ill-judged dive into the cartel world through UAM, it remains to be seen if or, rather, how much, YG will sell out, since it will now have to harmonise its position with that of the likes of SM).

What the Korean Wave needs are more Seo Taijis and Yang Hyeonseoks (CEO of YG Entertainment) as opposed to Lee Soomans and Kim Youngmins, more DFSB Kollectives[v] as opposed to Melon or Dosirak, and an industry environment where the likes of Fluxus and C-JeS can compete alongside the likes of JYP and Cube.

And so, in the end, in attempting to leave my last words on JYJ, I have strayed far from our favourite trio and have ended up on policy recommendations for the sustainability of the Korean Wave. Nonetheless, I hope my readers can see the logical connections between all the points that got me here. Also, I hope that the readers of The JYJ Files can now see why I never considered JYJ’s plight to be a question of Kpop or fandoms but rather one of justice and State sovereignty. In fact, I believe SM has been trying for a long time to trivialise the matter into a conflict between fandoms, pitting in its discourse the JYJ fandom against either the HoMin fandom or the fandoms of other SM artists. In my view, it is so much bigger than that, and it is my wish that the international JYJ fandom does not fall to the trivialisation ruse. As I have said above, SM—in drafting and enforcing the kind of contracts that it did, in continually disobeying the mouthpiece of the Korean State, and in defrauding Korean taxpayers—has meddled in the one area the Korean State cannot tolerate—its exclusive sovereign authority—and consequently has come to symbolise the antithesis of post-G20 Korea and a force that hates the Republic of Korea and her citizens.

More than anything, I would like the international JYJ fandom to be a fandom that truly loves Korea and Koreans…that cares enough about Korea to have high expectations of it and hold it accountable to those expectations…a fandom that loves the members of JYJ as Koreans and human beings with talent. I don’t know how much I’ve convinced you that to love Korea in practicality means hating SM, but the only effective response will be to NOT get bogged down in fights with either the HoMin fandom or the fandom of other SM idols. At the most fundamental level, this is not a fight between SM fans and JYJ fans. It is not even a fight between SM and JYJ. It is a fight between the SM system and the Korean State. Therefore, I am convinced that the only effective response is to pressure the Korean Government. Continue writing and emailing relevant ministries and communicating with them through projects like the international fans’ petition. As international consumers of the Korean Wave who are fully aware of the prevailing conditions, you have immense potential to influence policy on the labour standards in the Korean entertainment industry and to effectively protect the artists you love.

In many ways, you boast a power Korean fans cannot even dream of, as the ripple effects of the international fans’ petition have already shown. I remember on the day of the interview I gave to the Chosun Ilbo, I told an impressed reporter that there were an unimaginable number of people outside of Korea who have never been to Korea before but who loved Korean culture. “Korean culture no longer belongs solely to Koreans,” I said, and this part made it to the actual article. What didn’t make it into the article is that I went on to say, “Now that Korean pop has garnered an audience beyond Korea and has gone truly global, it must meet the international expectations of its international audience. If only to retain the economic prowess and global appeal of Korean music, we cannot afford to ignore the opinions and demands of the international consumers.” These standards and expectations, being international, are ultimately yours to define, not Koreans’. Your mobilisation will thus benefit not only Kim Jaejoong, Park Yoochun and Kim Junsu, but future ambassadors of the Korean arts, music and pop culture as well. Ultimately, your voice will prove the most effective in realising positive change in the Korean pop music industry. As such, I consider you all (including all those who participated in the international fans’ petition) as true Friends of Korea and decent human beings. JYJ could not ask for better admirers, and Korea could not ask for better supporters. I thank you all immensely from the bottom of my heart. Please don’t change, and may your numbers grow.

Be encouraged! Be empowered!

Yours Sincerely,

Jimmie Kim

[i] http://www.koreaherald.com/national/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20110113000615

[ii] http://icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_news/?cat_id=16567&ew_0_a_id=319769. See also, http://www.timeslive.co.za/entertainment/article795444.ece/Soweto-Gospel-Choir-gets-a-Grammy-nod

[iii] http://www.allkpop.com/2011/03/yges-yang-hyun-suk-talks-about-the-changes-in-the-music-industry

[iv] http://www.allkpop.com/2011/01/yg-entertainment-attracts-the-attention-of-musicians-known-worldwide. See also, http://www.allkpop.com/2011/01/is-yg-entertainment-the-solution-to-the-korean-music-industry

[v] http://www.dfsb.kr/ . The company is better known as the distributor of Korean music for Apple’s iTunes in North America. Unlike the Korean Internet music download distributors, DFSB does not slash prices at the artists’ expense and invests a chunk of their profit into promoting a new Korean indie or underground musician each year. This year, it’s Seoulsonic.

Written by: Jimmie of TheJYJFiles
Source: thejyjfileswordpress.com