▲Musician Rain (‘Jung Ji Hoon') hosting the '2012 Noble Military Family Awards' ceremony.ⓒ News 1
▲Singer
Rain (Private First Class ‘Jung Ji Hoon'), wearing civilian clothes,
gave a congratulatory performance along with an external dance team at
the 9th Comrades in Arms Marathon held in the Han River Citizens’ Park
in Yeoui-do, Seoul on the 15th of last September. The event, which was
hosted by the Defense Agency for Public Information Services, drew the
participation of 5,100 people including active enlisted Korean soldiers,
members of the US Armed Forces in Korea, military officers and ordinary
citizens. It is likely that ‘Jung Ji Hoon', as an entertainment
soldier, fulfilled his orders to perform at such events without a word
of complaint. ⓒ News 1
[Opinion]
The
shocked reactions of the entertainment media and the Defense Ministry
following rumors of a romantic relationship between ‘Jung Ji Hoon' and
'Kim Tae Hee'
[Mediaus]
The Defense Ministry appears to be quite galvanized by the surprising
news. At the break of the new year, it was exposed in the news media
that ‘Jung Ji Hoon' (stage name "Rain") who is currently serving as a
corporal in the Korean military, is in a romantic relationship with 'Kim
Tae Hee', one of the top celebrity stars of this generation. The
internet has been enflamed by the news. After the exclusive report was
released by "Dispatch," a media outlet claiming to specialize in
entertainment and celebrity news, related contents have continued to top
the search word rankings under varying key words, and there have been a
deluge of follow up reports that are almost too many to be numbered.
The
news gave rise to various controversies. Though the special report from
"Dispatch" focused only on the fact that the two celebrities were
dating, the news stoked discussion of problems in unexpected direction.
The time and location in which ‘Jung Ji Hoon', who is referred to as an
entertainment soldier, met with his date 'Kim Tae Hee' emerged as the
problematic issue. Soon, the number of leave days Jung received from the
military was disclosed. Even details regarding where he was while on
leave was widely exposed.
Comments
abounded comparing the number of Jung’s leave days to the number
received by Hyeon Bin, who served in the Marine Corps, and finally the
Defense Ministry announced that it would convene a disciplinary
committee for the referral of ‘Jung Ji Hoon'. 'Kim Min Seok', a
spokesperson for the Defense Ministry and a former reporter on military
affairs for the daily newspaper Joongang Ilbo wrote an official opinion
piece stating that "Though Corporal ‘Jung Ji Hoon' was sent off base for
practices (for the performance of new songs) as part of his official
military duties, it is true that he engaged in private meetings on the
way back, and such private contacts can be regarded as a violation of
military regulations" and clarified his position that ‘Jung Ji Hoon'
should receive disciplinary action. In addition, even the most miniscule
details have been circulated regarding Jung’s violation of the military
regulations.
Not only has the dates on which he met with 'Kim Tae Hee' become a matter of public knowledge, it appears
that even details about whose car he rode and where he went are all
becoming problematized. Since the reaction of the press has become so
heated, the Defense Ministry has been scrambling in an attempt to
assuage public opinion by expressing the position that it will use this
opportunity to rectify its policies regarding entertainment soldiers.
The
Defense Ministry claims that henceforth all entertainment soldiers will
be accompanied by officers when away from the base, and will be
absolutely required to return to the barracks before 10 pm. That the
most fervent interest imaginable has been aroused by this news of a
romance between Rain and 'Kim Tae Hee', and that the press has been
rushing to spew reports on the hot item is quite as expected.
Ever
since the news cycle has become enslaved to the internet portal
culture, the media have been engaged in an exhausting competition to
draw the most clicks by generating so-called "spot news"contents, and
this is a problem that must be addressed by reforming the press media
environment as a whole. However, it remains a baffling task to decipher
the attitudes of the anonymous masses who are expressing their rage in
response to the news, and to understand the causes and the targets of
their anger.
To
begin with, ‘Jung Ji Hoon' himself should not to be faulted regarding
the number of leave days he received from the army. The granting of
leaves is the responsibility of the Defense Ministry in charge of the
entertainment soldiers, and a matter of military policy. Although for
quite a while now there have been disgruntled comments about the leave
days given not only to Ji-HoonJeong but to the majority of entertainment
soldiers, the military has not taken any measures to address the issue
for a long time.
The
reason is simple. It is because these entertainers are following such a
routine in their military service to meet the requirements of the
Defense Ministry itself. The manner in which the military of the
Republic of Korea holds the youth of this country hostage has not
fundamentally changed in the course of the last several decades.
Under
the unconditional imperative of "duty,"the military without exception
imposes a halt on the progress of our youth. At some point,
entertainment soldiers began to function as a means for the military to
sugarcoat the violence of this system.
Military service
by celebrity entertainers is exploited to serve two strands of logic,
the first of which is to give the impression that "even a famous
celebrity serves in the military just like us." The other effect is to
point out that "celebrity entertainers demonstrate how the contemporary
military allows soldiers to fully utilize their talents during service."
Celebrity entertainers are thus mobilized and utilized by the military
in a manner different from those of ordinary soldiers.
In
the military, where a strict system is followed when issuing rewards
and penalties for merits and demerits, ‘leaves’are the virtually the
only form of compensation available to be offered to soldiers who have
been thus mobilized and exploited.
Psy,
who was ordered to re-enlist in the military because he committed the
violation of giving a musical performance during the period of his
alternative service, disclosed during a chat on a talk show the irony
that it was during the period of his second military appointment that he
was forced to give the greatest number of performances, and that as
compensation for the performance work, the military unit provided him
with various amenities.
It
is the same case for ‘Jung Ji Hoon', who since entering the military
service has had to appear in various military posters and public
information videos, perform in musicals, and even give shows at the
Yeosu Expo for the reason that the Expo was considered a national event.
That the military granted ‘leaves’ as a compensation for this extra
service is in itself an inevitable practice within the military system
and it is more of a structural problem that cannot be especially
criticized in this individual case alone.
In
other words, the problem of the leaves given to Jung is to be
considered not so much the personal responsibility of the solider but
rather a problem of systemic inconsistency within the military of the
Republic of Korea. Moreover, it is possible to question whether the
aspects of this case that the Defense Ministry rushed to address as
problematic are really beyond the boundaries of the conduct that
ordinary soldiers generally engage in during vacation or leave.
Following
the uproar, the fact that Jung rode in a car provided by an
acquaintance on the way back to barracks, and that he met privately with
a person during leave has been pointed out as violations of military
regulations, and in response the Defense Ministry claimed that it will
take "measures to ensure fairness with other soldiers."
If
such is the case, then does the military intend to equally penalize, as
in the case of Jeong, all the other active duty soldiers who are bent
on finding ways around garrison zone regulations and other military
regulations to quench their youthful desires during their leave or
vacation? This is not a persuasive stance.
Rather,
the aspects of this controversy that should be regarded as really
important are the issues of an individual’s privacy and ther public’s
lack of sensitivity regarding the human rights of celebrity
entertainers. If we are to be consistent with the logic that soldier
‘Jung Ji Hoon' should not be treated as an exception to the case of any
other soldier, then it should also be accepted that the human rights of a
celebrity entertainer must not be violated as an exception to the
universal rights of any other citizen.
The
relationship between ‘Jung Ji Hoon' and 'Kim Tae Hee' is an entirely
private matter, and even though discussions about the two have
proliferated in a space rife with all sorts of titillating rumors about
others’ private lives, there is a limit that should be respected, and
the two should be entitled to the protection of their privacy.
The
progress of the relationship of ‘Jung Ji Hoon' and 'Kim Tae Hee' and
whether they meet or part is not merely a constitutive property of the
entertainment news media and the public ought not to be allowed to rip
apart and expose their relationship; such a matter of privacy should not
be violated.
For
anyone who has suffered the hardships of active military duty, it is
understandable that the idea of ‘Jung Ji Hoon' receiving "special
privileged treatment"would arouse outrage. However, the crux of the
matter is to whom this anger should be directed, and it appears that
many people have completely misidentified the culprit. The real problem
is not soldier Jung’s personal conduct but the policy of Korea’s Defense
Ministry which has assigned a special status to celebrity entertainers
within its enlistment system, and the benighted system which reflects
the belief that the abuses of our outdated mandatory enlistment system
can be just barely diluted in the public’s consciousness by generalizing
from cases of such special treatment.
Also,
we should reflect on whether our strong conviction that Jung should not
receive privileged treatment is perhaps out of balance with our
willingness to violate the universal human rights to which even
celebrities ought to be entitled. In reaction to the double pressure of
distorted practices of entertainment driven journalism and the
undiscerning consumers of such journalism, the Defense Ministry is
hurrying only to cover up the controversy in a manner that will deflect
its own responsibilities.
In
the movie "A Sweet Life," the character of 'Lee Byeong Heon' ,who is
subject to a revenge for a reason he cannot fathom, finally shrieks out
an appeal to 'Lee Byeong Heon' saying, "Why are you doing this to me?
When all I’ve done is worked like a dog for you?" It seems that soldier
'Jung Ji Hoon' may feel just the same way at this moment.
English translation by 화니
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