On March 7, , the actress Jang Ja-yeon was found hanging on a stairway bannister by her older sister. The apparent suicide of the actress that was just starting to get her name recognized after her role in the hit drama series, Boys Over Flowers , hit hard, not just to her fans, but to the general public as well.
In a way, it reflected the high suicide rates Korea is known for β here was another young actress who killed herself for reasons unknown. And then her suicide letters became public. In these letters, she told a tale that had awoken the fury of the Korean public. She goes into detail, claiming that she was forced to sexually entertain these men over times, and accused them of sexual coercion, rape, and battery.
In the months and years that followed her death, the eleven names somehow became 31 in a list passed around the internet, news stories became inaccurate as the truth became increasingly blurred, contradictory stories from just about everyone involved, allegations of computer hacking, and government interference was rampant.
But one fact continues to be held true β Jang Ja-yeon was forced into sexual acts with these influential people, and was forced into these sponsorship relations by her manager. Of those named in her letter, only her manager and CEO were sentenced to jail for two years. As for the men named? They were all cleared. Sponsorship is the dirty, barely kept secret of the Korean entertainment industry. Every entertainment industry has some form of the casting couch, yes, but there are few that come close to the systematic way that it is present in South Korea.
These men would then sponsor the celebrity, giving her designer and expensive stuff, and would help her get roles and commercials, in return for one little thing β sex. After all, prostitution is illegal and engaging in prostitution and paying for prostitution is considered a criminal act. More complicated answer? Prostitution, no matter what you choose to call it, is rampant and prevalent in South Korea.
