2019 saw the discovery of the Burning Sun scandal, commonly referred to as Burning Sun Gate.
With its skillfully directed music videos, electrifying live performances, and, of course, the idols’ captivating personalities, K-pop has swept the world by storm. But what we see is not always what it seems to be. People are more horrific and complicated than they let on, situations are worse than they appear, and objects are more hazardous than they appear. This was the case with the Burning Sun scandal, which goes by the name Burning Sun Gate, and whose sinister reality was discovered in 2019.
The tragedy started far earlier than it was made public and involved a sex and entertainment scandal in South Korea involving many celebrities, including police officers and K-pop idols from well-known groups. Burning Sun: Exposing the Secret is a recent BBC Eye documentary. One of the creepiest cases in K-pop history has been brought back to light by K-pop Chat Groups. The late K-pop idol Goo Hara and two female reporters who risked everything to get the truth were featured prominently in the documentary.
In January 2019, MBC, a South Korean local station, reported on an assault case in Gangnam, a wealthy district in Seoul, bringing the Burning Sun controversy to light. They discovered that two months earlier, in November, a guy called Kim Sang-kyo attended a party at the Burning Sun club in Yeoksam-dong when the club’s workers beat him up. The man told the staff that he spotted a girl fallen over, but instead of assisting, they hauled him outside the club and beat him up. Furthermore, when he phoned the police, they handcuffed him. This incident escalated into something far more nasty than anyone could have predicted.
Park Hyo-sil disclosed Jung Joon-young’s role in secretly photographing his girlfriend
Journalist Park Hyo-sil was the first to report on Jung Joon-young’s 2016 clandestine sex tape filming. He was the former singer-songwriter for the band that played drug restaurants and a very successful radio personality. Park alleges that she was tipped off that Joon-young had recorded his partner during their sexual encounter and even charged him with making “Molka,” which is the term for illicitly recorded video of women that can be used to degrade them in the future. Jung sent his phone to a private forensics business during the investigation, refusing to provide it to the police. The K-pop singer was questioned by the police, but they quickly closed the case in 2016 without delving much further.
However, Jung was unaware that the data on his phone had been carbon-copied when he transferred it to the private forensics firm. Someone aware of it decided to leak the information to the media, and SBS’s entertainment reporter Kang Kyung-yoon was one of those who eventually received the data. She discovered Jung’s group chats with his male buddies from 2015 to 2016 on KakaoTalk, a famous South Korean messenger program.
Kang had expected the data to contain Jung’s girlfriend Molka, but it was not there. However, it sparked a flurry of illegal activity involving Jung and his other famous buddies, including Choi Jong-hoon, lead guitarist of rock band FT Island, and Seungri, a prominent star of the K-pop group BigBang.
Jung Joon-young, Seungri, and Choi Jong-hoon spoke of raping an unconscious woman
The BBC documentary disclosed these celebrities’ group chat discussions, revealing some incredibly unpleasant interactions, including one in which they gang-raped an unconscious woman. ‘Seungstby’ alias Seungri even utilized ladies to attract investors for his firm. The data also revealed that police were involved in the cover-up of crimes such as drunk driving.
Seungri collaborates with a wealthy businessman to open Mildang Pocha, a drinking establishment, with his buddies Jung and Choi. Just days after its debut, Jung Joon-young filmed Molka on its premises. Furthermore, his phone’s data expired in August 2016, just before his fiancée accused him of secretly photographing her.
Seungri opens the famed ‘Burning Sun’ club
In December 2017, Seungri held a birthday celebration on a Philippine island to attract investors for his business ventures. He brought young women from Korea and invited dozens of wealthy businessmen to his party. Soon after obtaining big investments, he opened the infamous ‘Burning Sun’ club, Gangnam’s largest. Former club employees told the BBC that they were known as merchandisers (MDs) and that they would ensure that there were girls at the club to cater to VIP guests. The MDs would engage in all manner of criminal actions to attract male customers, including photographing unconscious women in the club.
Burning Sun’s criminal practices were revealed when an attack video of a man went viral
When Kim Sang-kyo’s attack film leaked into the media, it brought the club’s unlawful actions to light. Meanwhile, additional evidence emerged, including a terrible case of Molka, videotaped inside Burning Sun and known as the Red Bathroom video, which became popular on pornographic websites. Following the incident, Burning Sun halted operations, and Seungri apologized to his fans at a solo show. When Kang Kyung-yoon published her exposé, Seungri voluntarily went to the police station for questioning.
Late K-pop star Goo Hara persuaded her buddy Choi Jong-hoon to provide the name of the police official
The SBS journalist discovered a stumbling hurdle in finding the ‘ senior cops’ who had assisted these men on multiple occasions. This is when the late K-pop idol Goo Hara stepped in. She sought out Kang for assistance with anything relating to the Burning Sun affair because she knew Jung, Choi, and Seungri. She persuaded Choi Jong-hoon to reveal the identity of the ‘Police Prosecutor General’. Hara assisted Choi in admitting it. For those who are unaware, Hara was a victim of revenge pornography. Just a year before the Burning Sun controversy, her ex-boyfriend threatened her with a non-consensual sexual tape.
Read Also: When will J-Hope finish military service? And when is his new documentary released?
