Jang Ja Yeon was beaten and raped
The general consensus was that the late actress, Jang Ja Yeon took her life because of stress, netizen pressure or on-going depression from her parents’ death… but no. Evidence has emerged saying she was physically and sexually abused by the big wigs in the Korean entertainment industry.
Jang Ja Yeon’s former manager is being questioned by police while he is in hospital. Three plain-clothed policemen entered Mr Yoo’s ward at 4:30pm on the 14th, where they apparently told him “if you have something to say, then say it now”. The police are reported to have questioned him in relation to the now infamous documents.
BUT KBS ‘News at 9′ have apparently managed to get hold of certain leaked papers, and according to them, there was something terrible, something horrific going on. These are some of the extracts that were revealed:
Sexual harassment by a producer (PD) “… demanded I join him for golf and drinks. I had to drink with him in a room-saloon [Korean place for drinking and 'other things' that is a cross between a motel-room and a bar] and I was forced to sleep with him.”
When she went to her company to complain “I was locked in a room and beaten endlessly with fists and PET bottles… I was sent abusive text messages”
“As a newcomer, my income was small but I was forced to bear the responsibility for everything including my manager’s income level”
Ja Yeon apparently hand-wrote her story and asked her manager to expose the person responsible for her struggles. She told him didn’t want her family to think that she was driven to suicide, not just by personal depression but by darkness outside her.
Ja Yeon’s messages from beyond the grave include names of the person she mentioned plus at least one currently-active television producer. Her manager is yet to reveal specifics but he said it would be disturbing. These incidents were not one-off events but continuous abuses from as far back as a year ago right up until the week before her death.
If these names are revealed, the very foundations of Korean entertainment could be shaken. Although the police have declined to comment on the matter due to “personal privacy issues”, they have yet to deny that there is an investigation already underway.
KBS have also reported that the manager was receiving hospital care after attempted suicide in his apartment when he was found and rescued by an employee, apparently to avoid being targeted for his expositions.
Yoo has stated that he is going against the family’s wishes and wants to expose and punish Ja Yeon’s persecutors. As Yoo reappears, another producer in question has escaped to Japan.
I’m going to be sick. However, I do hope that Jang Ja Yeon’s tragic death can help bring change in the entertainment industry they desperately need.
Rest in peace Jang Ja Yeon.
Sadly, this misogynistic treatment of women is old news in Asia and much of the world, even today. It’s no surprise that much of this shady business in the entertainment industry (even though things of this sort happen at the average workplace unnoticed) goes unreported, but hopefully Jang Ja-yeon’s death will shed more light on these practices, which are commonly accepted but indecent and inhumane. Rest in peace.
omg I was right!
Manager-Managed relationship is very close in korea, since they are the people the star is around most often.
others were very quick to discredit him.
i guess it isn’t so shocking that she did this despite being in the popular BOF, it was the people producing it that tormented her.
i know her family wanted to let her and themselves be at peace and not delve into the possibility of foul play, but i doubt Jayeon will ever be able to RIP until justice has been served.
i hope..want the name of the PD to be revealed. It’s slowly starting to become like the infamous edison chen sex scandal. If she was abused like this….I’m pretty sure thr are other female celebs who were abused too and are unable to speak out.
aholi, hmm, I’m not sure you can compare this with the Edison Chen sex scandal at all. Edison Chen was a freaking idiot who think he’s the baddest mothereffer in town and did some mindblowingly stupid things, but this PD is truly sick and disgusting. Reading about this makes me so upset.
i feel ill reading this. Now I won’t be able to think about it while watching BOF on Monday. I hope that the assholes who did this to her are brought to justice. No one has the right to treat a person like that.
Articles like these always makes me worried for the welfare of other artists that I support. I wonder what would happen in the singing business, with huge companies such as SM, JYP, and YG.
I’m a fan of a lot of groups/people in those companies, and it makes me sick to think that they may be experiencing such horrors.
It would have probably been better had she stood up for herself and revealed such atrocities to the public. That way, more people can know about it and some thing may be done to prevent it. It’s sad that she chose to end her life instead.
Again, my condolences to her family.
Would people have believed her, though, or would the powers that be have easily discredited her? I enjoy Korean entertainment, but Korea as a society has a discouraging track record when it comes to giving women a fair shake (by the way, whatever happened to that actress who was facing JAIL TIME for committing adultery?). I hope this seriously opens people’s eyes.
Damn, I feel like a right fool. Originally, I had thought the right thing for us netizens to do was leave her family alone in their mourning and that manager’s story sounded sensational and even attention-seeking; but I was completely mistaken and ignorant. I’m very glad that the manager had the courage to stand out against the entertainment monguls and skepticism of cynics (myself included). It’s absolutely horrifying that this is happening to artists in the world of kpop we love so much. I hope that after this, fans will be more aware of what happens behind the PR gloss and other artists who’ve experienced abuse can also take a stand for themselves.
I hope the truth will be revealed soon and that Jang Ja Yeon can finally rest in peace.
But I don’t want to single out Korea like they’re the ONLY society that gives women a raw deal (although I think it’s especially flagrant there). American society is definitely not perfect when it comes to female equality either, as evidenced by the victim bashing in the nauseating Rihanna/Chris Brown saga. Just read this post on the Entertainment Weekly site: http://popwatch.ew.com/popwatch/2009/03/boston-survey-f.html
I hope they get the people responsible for her suffering and shove them in the worst prison they can find.
RIP Jang Ja Yeon.
Man…This is insane.
goodness this is really terrible. and i feel so sorry for her manager too.
this is just horrendous. i hope justice will be served for Jang Ja Yeon. i hope this doesn’t get covered up with bribes.
:(
poor baby, she should have told someone or somebody from the cast of BOF..she should have fought and not killed herself. The industry can be a very mean machine for newbies in the business and alot of the big CRAPPY OLD BIG WINGS who takes advantage of someone like her and her situation should have been put to jail or hell…but sadly, money talks…crap..these old dirty man…karma to your daughters..don’t forget that what goes around comes around.
well i feel bad for doubting the manager’s motive before. the key issue is how the enormous popularity of BBF with women and female teens, would have put any public pressure on real life crime against women that’s the exact opposite of the fantasy they watch onscreen. not one or two men, but the entire system was against jang ja yeon. how could she feel there’s any way out?
Jang Ja Yeon isn’t the only female celebrity to be treated this way. It’s not only the Korean entertainment industry which has cases like that.
Someone above who mentioned Edison Chen’s scandal isn’t totally wrong. Celebrities like Gillian, Joey etc under the same company were made to sleep with their bosses too.
It’s an open secret in the entertainment industry, but no one will ever stand out and say it because it will just be the end of their career. Also, no media would report it because the media is controlled by these “bosses”, too.
@ miss V: yes, there’s so much rumor about joey yung since day one, that her recent comment dissociating herself from edison (viz. being friends with him is “beneath” her) is a bit much hypocrisy!
it is just like all the abuse going on by name of racism, nazism, the cultural revolution, etc etc. the more people don’t speak up the abuse they see, hear and know, the more it becomes normal, “OK” for the “strong” to oppress and exploit the “weak”. it is complicity. they are accomplices by turning a blind eye, to save their own butts while others perish and rot. of course it’s hard to ask anyone to give up their livelihood for martyrdom without obvious rewards, but more people standing up to systematic abuse, can make the monster smaller, less tolerated to eat up young women like this.
some translated articles identify the PD as “Kim”. is this correct? he’s currently in japan “on business” and of course, laughed off the accusation against him.
RIP Jang Ja Yeon.
This is seriously sickening.
Hope those bastards will get their punishment.
I sincerely hope the authorities reveal the sick immoral corrupt bastards and somewhat clear jang ja yeon’s name.
it’s so unbelievably morbid and gross. makes me wanna puke.
this is getting twisted! korean music industry is a dog eat dog world… damn! here I was annoyed by the girl for starting yet another series of suicides… sigh… hope the people who wronged her will be arrested…. imagine being in one of the most successful dramas of recent years and still having to deal with low life producers with small dingalings
[...] on SeoulBeats, the story is coming out that the late Jang Ja-yeon, the deceased supporting actor in “Flowers Before Boys” [...]
I was right!, there are other people behind this!, Let the prosecutor be punished, This is so terrible, i know there are other celebrities suffering in this kind of abuse!, if this crime will be solved i hope other celebs will have a strength to fight for justice!,…
well, i hope they find out the truth and that bribing will not affect it.
i wish her justice. may this sad event open the eyes of people and maybe rescue other female celebrities out of their situations.
of course it’s already been an open secret. we all know that females (or sometimes even young males) are used by their bosses. it’s not just korea, but everywhere on teh world. it’s not just the entertainment industry, it’s in any industry…
oei. this is getting…weird. and atrocious.
is this the end of hallyu???
oei.
daysgoby : well, when i meant “edison sex scandal”..i was talking about how the really dark side of entertainment is creeping out. I’m pretty sure JJY wasn’t the only one who was forced to sleep around..many actresses or artists do that and it’s a really sad thing. This is why “the very foundations of Korean entertainment could be shaken”. Most ppl (especially teeny boppers) think that the korean entertainment industry is like sugar…when it’s actually not.
Wel its really the stars own fault. I mean they could easily walk away but no, they choose to sleep wit the bosses to get famous.
Thats the entertainment buisness.
@ ahoii
“Most ppl (especially teeny boppers) think that the korean entertainment industry is like sugar…when it’s actually not”
K-Pop is sugar coated isn’t it? The entire manufactured nature of the industry makes this rather easy. Their PR machines must be formidable.
@ =]
I hope you don’t mean that. Some people know they have genuine talent but have no money of their own. What would you do? Could you walk away from that? The opportunity to fulfill your potential or to live the life of a pauper?
People will do anything to survive, and in Korea where there is little in the way of social benefits, there is little choice for rising talents but to close their eyes, grit their teeth and get on with it. This is wrong.
They’re trained up for years and promised everything during that time and at the end are told that they need to do a few horrible things to keep going or risk losing everything. They don’t “choose to sleep with the bosses to get famous”, they are blackmailed into doing it to earn a living – forced to prostitute themselves to executives.
I want justice to be served.
OMG THAT IS HORRIBLE!
This is why you don’t become a celebrity.
Stay in school kids.
also, I don’t understand the family. They should fight for JJY, or else her death would have been for nothing.
Gabby,
I think I understand where you’re coming from, but I don’t think Jang Ja Yeon’s situation can be compared to Rihanna/Chris Brown because 1)the magnitude is much greater 2)this is exploitation while Rihanna/Chris Brown is domestic violence. Rihanna probably had the power to fight back. For many women, rape is extremely shameful, even if it’s not their fault, especially in Asian cultures, so they are not willing to admit to it and even more so when their (public) career is on the line. Although it’s very unfortunate, I’m not surprised that she committed suicide.
To be honest, I’m not surprised that all this dirt occurs in any entertainment circle. It’s just kept really quiet. Historically, this is why some Asian cultures really looked down upon those who were in the entertainment business, especially women because they had to perform “favors” in order to maintain their popularity/status.
omg i wonder who the pd is geeez i feel bad for her
Johnny’s Entertainment anyone? Both girls and guys go through this shit in the entertainment industry. It’s sad but I don’t know why this is such a surprise to anyone.
Second thought, I don’t see how anyone could say that she chose this life so it’s all her fault. First of all, she did not consent to this. If she did, she wouldn’t have gone to her company to complain and get the daylights beaten out of her. Get this through your head, she was beaten and threatened into submission. In other words, she was raped. I don’t see how anyone could have missed this point.
beaten and raped?! holy momo
Oh my days no wonder BOF was cursed
becos of the major injustic that was goin on behind closed doors
well at the same time im not shocked, poor girl,i cant even imagin how it made her feel,becos u want to persue a dream to act u have to pay the ultimate price with ur intergrity.
Well this sort of thing should get more exposed, and God keep that her maneger alive to see this through to the very end.
RIP Jang Ja Yeon
I’ve also blogged about this with my anger.
Yoo Jang Ho Ssi, please please don’t kill yourself… please!!!
Jang entrusted her last will with you – hence you have to make sure you see justice served to her in your life time, and those not explicitly but I am sure Jang wanted to make sure no one repeats after her sad foot steps – you, being a good manager with a good heart and a lot of guts, please take care of many other actresses and actors – this experience is painful but you’ve got to bear it to see this to the end.
I vow to see that you don’t become the second “Park Shin Yang” – one is already too much!
wait, if her manager worked at the mgmt. compay, and she went to complain after she was raped, and subsequently locked in a room and beaten, then by logical deduction the manager must have known what was happening to her. it’s seems like he spoke up only after her death because of a guilty conscience. perhaps if he had contacted the authorities beforehand, she wouldn’t have needed to die needlessly. it’s clear she was all alone and none of the people who knew what was happening to her were willing to help her.
Oh my god, this is terrible! I hope whoever violated her is made to known to the public because he deserves to be known for what he is….scum!! The law really needs to be served here. Fuck the entertainment industry being shaken. I don’t care!
May she rest in peace and justice be served.
@ claire
i couldn’t write it because i couldn’t find any evidence for it but apparently he wasn’t a big deal in terms of her management team… a road manager… the formal title for a driver
some other reports mentioned that it was her ex-manager that she handed the documents too. Although still unclear, it could mean that Yoo-Mo is no longer with the current company.
can’t help feeling that this whole industry works like mafia mob. if i am yoo-mo and if i had those document, i would fear for my life..didn’t his website say that he tried to take his own life to avoid being a “target”?
still a lot of what ifs….
if those thugs are not brought to justice i don’t care if i will ever watch another korean drama/movie…dang those entertainment companies.
Appalling.
Jang ja yun RIP
lets all go beat the hell outa the PD
i never knew ppl would be beaten
if they asked for help juz cuzz they were raped or something
ya i dun wanna be a singer anymore
i dun wanna be beaten like her
seriously all the ppl who beat and raped her
should juz die
[...] The revelation has caused uproar in the Korean public, and Yoo himself is said to have attempted suicide on March 14th because of the immense pressure. The police is now investigating into the claims [with reference from Hanfever and Seoulbeats] [...]
ok this is just wrong for her carrer to rise up she has to sleep with men and if she doesn’t she’ll get beat up!thats just wrong.she is a great awesome actress on her own she doesn’t need those perverted companies help
[...] I caught on to a highly addictive drama, Boys over Flowers (B.O.F in short), for which the late JJY committed suicide over some “undesirable” business, closed to the eyes of the public. [...]
Ah Ha…the big wigs
flaunt their powers aka monies
according to the second to last article.
The case has been “swept under the rug”
which in itself is utterly sickening…
Brought tears of anger and loathing
to my eyes.
R.I.P JJY..
Karma has its own way of justice so you should rest easily.
Omg! This is outrageous, to think this happens in the world of entertainment. its sadly a disgusting everyday occurance, that should not be happening. i feel sickened by the fact she was taken advantage of like this all for wanting to better her life and achieve something.
From these statements, I guess someone big in the Korean entertainment industry is behind all this. I pray for Jang Ja Yeon’s soul to rest in peace, and for Yoo Jang Ho to find the courage to step out and put a stop to this, once and for all. If other victims were afraid to come out, then whoever is behind this must be a really powerful figure. A horrible, horrible, powerful figure.
[...] but here’s a rundown. Jang Jayeon was a new actress, most notably from Boys Over Flowers. She committed suicide. Later, her manager told the media that one contributing factor was because she was physically and [...]