Tuesday, September 13, 2016

"Let's not use foreign actors": Controversy spreads over SBS's 'I Want to Know That' report

The 2005 English Spectrum Incident

Part 1: English Spectrum and 'Ask The Playboy'
Part 2: The Kimchiland where it’s easy to sleep with women and make money
Part 3: English Spectrum shuts down as Anti-English Spectrum is created
Part 4: How to hunt foreign women
Part 5: Did the foreigners who denigrated Korean women throw a secret party?
Part 6: The 'Ask The Playboy' sexy costume party
Part 7: Stir over ‘lewd party’ involving foreigners and Korean women
Part 8: The 2003 post that tarred foreign English teachers as child molesters
Part 9: Netizens shocked by foreign instructor site introducing how to harass Korean children
Part 10: 'Recruit a Yankee strike force!'
Part 11: The Daum signature campaign: 'Let's kick out low quality foreign instructors!' 
Part 12: Movement to expel foreign teachers who denigrated Korean women
Part 13: "Middle school girls will do anything"
Part 14: Netizens propose 'Yankee counter strike force'
Part 15: Segye Ilbo interview with the women from the party, part 1
Part 16: Segye Ilbo interview with the women from the party, part 2
Part 17: Web messages draw Koreans’ wrath
Part 18: Thai female laborers and white English instructors
Part 19: KBS Morning Newstime: 'I can also suffer from the two faces of the internet'
Part 20: AES: Grandfather Dangun is wailing in his grave!
Part 21: 'Regret' over the scandal caused by confessions of foreign instructors
Part 22: "Korean men have no excuse"
Part 23: "Unfit foreign instructors should be a 'social issue'"
Part 24: Growing dispute over foreign English instructor qualifications
Part 25: 'Clamor' at foreigner English education site
Part 26: Foreign instructor: "I want to apologize"
Part 27: No putting brakes on 'Internet human rights violations'
Part 28: "They branded us as whores, yanggongju and pimps," part 1
Part 29: "They branded us as whores, yanggongju and pimps," part 2
Part 30: Don't Imagine
Part 31: Anti-English Spectrum founder's statement
Part 32: 'Foreign instructor' takes third place
Part 33: Art From Outsider's Point of View
Part 34: U.S. Embassy warns Americans of threats near colleges
Part 35: Internet real name system debated
Part 36: Dirty Korean women who have brought shame to the country?
Part 37: Invasion of Privacy Degrades Korean Women Twice Over
Part 38: 60 unqualified native speaking instructors hired for English instruction
Part 39: The rising tide of unqualified foreign instructors
Part 40: Warrant for Canadian English instructor who molested hagwon owner
Part 41: MBC Sisa Magazine 2580: "Korea is a paradise"
Part 42: Foreign instructor: "In two years I slept with 20 Korean women."
Part 43: Viewers shocked by shameless acts of unqualified foreign instructors.
Part 44: Warrant for the arrest of a man in his 30s for breaking into home of foreign instructors
Part 45: [Cultural criticism] Hongdae club day lewd party incident 
Part 46: Unqualified English instructors seen as major problem here
Part 47: Investigation of the realities of 'foreign instructors' methods for luring Korean women'
Part 48: Broadcast announcement: 'For foreign instructors, is Korea a paradise for women?'
Part 49: To white English instructors, the Republic of Korea is a paradise
Part 50: "If they're white, it's okay?" Lots of English instructor frauds... 
 
Part 51: A new message from Anti English Spectrum
Part 52: 
SBS, 'Is Korea their paradise? Blond hair blue eyes' part 1
Part 53: SBS, 'Is Korea their paradise? Blond hair blue eyes' part 2 
Part 54: SBS, 'Is Korea their paradise? Blond hair blue eyes' part 3
Part 55: Viewers of 'Realities of unfit foreign instructors' outraged
Part 56: Foreign instructor: "Korea is a cash and women dispenser."
Part 57: Frustration with low-standard foreign instructors: "Korea's pride damaged"
Part 58: Netizen anger over 'foreign instructor' broadcast
Part 61: A country where foreign English instructors play
Part 62: "Let's not use foreign actors": Controversy spreads over SBS's 'I Want to Know That' report 

On February 22, 2005, Herald SaengSaeng News reported on a new controversy surrounding the SBS broadcast:
"Let's not use foreign actors": Controversy spreads over SBS's 'I Want to Know That' report



Controversy is spreading over SBS's "I Want to Know That" report.

After the report on the 19th, "Is Korea their paradise? A report on the real conditions of blonde-haired, blue-eyed foreign instructors," which focused on the facts of some foreign instructors' illegal and immoral acts, the realities of unfit foreign instructors are heating up the internet and amid this assertions are being made that foreigners who appear on Korean TV should not be used.

During the broadcast one illegal foreign instructor said in an interview "I'm a foreign instructor and I also have been on TV programs," and after this statement came out, posts appeared viewers' message board which went as far as saying that Korean terrestrial broadcasts should refrain from [allowing] appearances by foreign stand-in actors.

"It's said that most foreign actors appearing on TV are illegal sojourners."

"At the very least shouldn't it be confirmed if they are illegal sojourners? They say that an investigation is pending but that all viewers can see those low quality people opening acting on TV is in itself disappointing."

"Let's blow the whistle on TV production crews that hire illegal sojourners."

"If almost all foreign actors are illegal sojourners, their fees have no taxes taken from them. [So] we regularly have more tax taken."

"Do we really need to use foreign actors?"

"Korean actors shouldn't wear wigs and act."

"Broadcasters shouldn't protect illegals."

"Depending on your view, isn't foreigners' exaggerated acting on the stage even stranger? The sight of young actors forced to dress up from young people to the elderly seems to be funnier."

"In what country's case if it's not English is it Korean? If you want to do it properly, in Japan's case hire Japanese and do it in Japanese, in the Arab case you hire Arabs and ask them to speak Arabic." There is an outpouring of such posts by agitated netizens.

On the other hand, prudent responses were also brought up, such as, "Hurry and investigate so misunderstandings regarding law-abiding foreign actors can be swept away" and "I would like for other foreign actors not to suffer harm because of people who are illegal foreign instructors."

A foreign actor who appears on MBC's "Mysterious TV Surprise," shared a message expressing their feelings on the show's message board: "One bad person or a rumor says all the actors are bad or "Surprise" can't be made badly. It's regrettable for the broadcast. And to those who support us we sincerely thank you."

Meanwhile, the production team for "Surprise" also disclosed their position regarding the 'Foreign actor interview.' They pointed out that "We too are confused as we didn't know beforehand there would be an interview with a foreign actor on "I Want To Know That." The foreign actors on "Surprise" were hired through a legal procedure and strict selection via a legal agency."

Seo Byeong-gi, Multiculturalism Special Reporter
It's interesting to see all the different corners of society affected by the English Spectrum incident and the SBS broadcast. I don't think this internet kerfuffle had much of an effect on the hiring of foreign actors, however. This is the last contemporary article about the English Spectrum incident which appeared in the Korean media, though there is one more text by Anti English Spectrum to deal with before this series can be (finally!) wrapped up.

2 comments:

brent said...

I cant wait for normal posting again :)

aekimchee said...

I can tell you what the deal with shows like "Surprise" has been for many years: There are only a couple of agencies that issue entertainment visas to foreigners. They are dodgy, have slave-like contracts, and will take up to 80% of your pay. This is why you so often see people like Russians or Nigerians playing Americans (poorly). I had a Colombian friend some years back who was appearing on a major network show regularly and found out that his agency was getting paid W3,000,000 monthly for his salary while he only received W300,000. People in these situations are on valid visas for their TV work, but they often have to moonlight under the table to make ends meet, and that's when you'll see them doing things like teaching illegally. The other way TV networks get cheap foreigners is from agents who hang around places like Yonsei KLI and get youngsters on student visas who aren't restricted from such part time work.