Cultural critic Ha Jae Geun has called out the entertainment industry’s double standards, pointing to how young female celebrities often face stricter scrutiny than their male counterparts, explicitly referencing the controversial case involving Seo Ye Ji and Kim Jung Hyun.
In a YouTube video posted on the “View Port” channel on the 14th under the topic “How much right does the public have to know about celebrities’ private lives?” host Seo Dong Joo opened the discussion by noting, “There seem to be many people who take hiatus, partly voluntarily and partly involuntarily, due to privacy issues.”
Cultural critic Ha Jae Geun then highlighted the industry’s gender bias, stating, “Among the same privacy issues, there are many cases where stricter standards are applied to young women,” before bringing up former couple Seo Ye Ji and Kim Jung Hyun as a prime example.
“Kim Jung Hyun showed unprofessional behavior on set, but people said, ‘That’s because Seo Ye Ji gaslighted him,'” Ha recalled. “Seo Ye Ji didn’t commit a crime that warranted criminal punishment. But she was criticized for her private life, accused of ‘making her boyfriend behave improperly,’ and ended up unable to work for quite some time.”
He pointed out the absurdity of the situation: “The ridiculous thing is that Kim Jung Hyun is not a child, but an adult. If he showed unprofessional behavior on set, that’s all on him. But suddenly, it became ‘Seo Ye Ji’s responsibility,’ and she received even more criticism.”
The controversy erupted in 2021 when Seo Ye Ji was accused of gaslighting Kim Jung Hyun. At the time, Kim allegedly treated his co-star Seohyun coldly and neglected his role at the urging of Seo Ye Ji, who was his girlfriend. The scandal forced both Kim Jung Hyun and Seo Ye Ji to temporarily halt their entertainment activities.
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