K-Pop in crisis: Scandal threatens to end the 'Korean Wave' and exposes culture of toxic masculinity www.cnn.com

Seoul (CNN)South Korea's entertainment industry is a cultural juggernaut that has allowed the East Asian nation to punch well above its weight in terms of global soft power.

But a digital sex scandal that police say involves some of K-Pop's biggest stars has rocked the K-Pop world, leaving it facing a reckoning from which some believe it might not recover.
In the past month, four major K-Pop idols have apologized or announced early retirement after being linked to a group chat in which members shared sexual videos of women who were allegedly filmed without their consent. On Thursday, singer Jung Joon-young was arrested in connection with the scandal.
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The allegations tie in with a wider problem in South Korea of illicit recordings and voyeurism.
This week it emerged that about 1,600 people had been secretly filmed in motel rooms in South Korea. Police say the footage was live-streamed online to paying viewers. Last year, in Seoul, a squad of women inspectors was deployed to search the capital's 20,000 or so public toilets for spy cameras.

K-Pop stars have long been placed on pedestals, with management companies highly protective of their squeaky clean images.
Allegations linking some to the dirty world of online voyeurism have rocked South Korea, and exposed how the longstanding problem of toxic masculinity -- the idea that the male role involves violence, dominance and devaluing women -- has penetrated every level of society.
Speaking at a protest Thursday over the scandal, Kim Yong-soon, co-president of Korean Women's Association United, said "the rape culture (in Korea) that has used women for erotic videos has been maintained for a long time."
"The male-centered ... rape culture did not stop even after feminism and the growth of the feminist movement and #MeToo," she said, adding now there was an opportunity "to sort out finally the male-centered culture that has traded women's sexuality (for so long)."
At an emergency meeting with concerned groups and activists this week, South Korea's Minister of Gender Equality and Family Jin Sun-mee had a simple message for the country's men.
"Please stop," Jin said. "Please report it. Women are humans with souls who can be our colleagues, friends or sisters who live and breathe next to us."

When South Korean police depicted a spy cam voyeur in a public awareness campaign designed to protect women, amid an epidemic of voyeurism and upskirt photography, their typical perpetrator couldn't have looked less like a K-Pop idol.
The posters showed an overweight, rosy-cheeked man dressed like a child in suspenders and shorts.
Police apologized, and the campaign was quickly withdrawn, deemed wildly inaccurate and offensive to the millions of women living in fear of illegal filming. There is little evidence to suggest spy cam operators and upskirt snappers are badly socialized losers rather than regular men brought up in a society that has taught them to see women as objects.
The latest allegations bear out that reality. The accused K-Pop stars are famous young men at the height of their industry, feted in the press and fawned over by millions of fans.
The sale and distribution of pornography is illegal in South Korea, and porn sites are blocked or difficult to access online. However, some men share explicit videos on messaging apps and social media, including potentially illicitly filmed footage.
"(This issue) is prevalent in every part of society," said Choi Mi-jin, president of the Women Labor Law Support Center. "It is not just a problem with certain celebrities."
This scandal, Choi said, exposed the way that men generally "currently perceive women." In 2018, tens of thousands of women protested against surge in illegal filming in central Seoul under the slogan "My Life is Not Your Porn." However, many women at the events covered their faces for fear of being identified or harassed online afterward.
Park Kwi-cheon, a labor law professor at Ewha Law School in Seoul, said that because Korean men often view women as merely sexual objects, they might not fully understand why filming a sexual partner without consent is wrong.
"For example, in colleges there have been incidents when male students would secretly take pictures of female students or disparage women sexually in group chats," Park said. "There is a culture where they don't think of such behavior as crimes but think of it as a kind of game."

K-Pop labels and management companies begin the development of some artists from an early age, said Jung Duk-hyun, a pop culture expert. Recruited into K-Pop training camps, the future stars are highly controlled and molded to be as close as possible to perfect performers in both voice and look.
While undergoing as much as a decade of pop-star training, some artists are cut off from society, as they focus on working their way up the ranks of a K-Pop stable, hoping to one day burst onto the music stage. When they do go public, artists are often forbidden by their contracts from dating for several years, in part, some experts say, to appease fans who dream about dating their idols.
That transition from isolation to sudden fame creates fertile soil for misbehavior and a pronounced power imbalance between artists and fans, Jung said. The limiting conditions of the contracts stars sign with the labels can also create skewed expectations of how stars should act.
Stars can go from relative nobodies to widely recognized figures overnight, with no anonymity, leading them to seek refuge in places like dark and isolated VIP rooms of bars and clubs, Jung said.
Seungri (center), a member of the K-Pop boy group BIGBANG, speaks to the media as he arrives for questioning over criminal allegations at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in Seoul on March 14, 2019.
Seungri (center), a member of the K-Pop boy group BIGBANG, speaks to the media as he arrives for questioning over criminal allegations at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in Seoul on March 14, 2019.
Burning Sun, a popular nightclub in the upmarket Gangnam area of Seoul, may have been such a refuge for Seungri, a member of global chart-topper Big Bang. The 28-year-old oversaw publicity for the club and sat on its board, until it shuttered last month amid accusations by police that some on the club's staff secured prostitutes for VIPs, rape, drug trafficking and drug use.
Seungri has since quit his position with Burning Sun, and apologized to fans over the scandal. With regard to the alleged sharing of illicitly filmed videos, he has promised to "fully engage in (the police) investigation with truthful answers."
The club did not respond to requests for comment, but a spokesperson had previously said it was "actively cooperating" with police.
Closed off VIP rooms are symbolic of the arms-length relationship between the K-Pop industry and the public, Jung said. Fans are sold a fantasy from a heavily guarded, almost impenetrable system.

For some, the K-Pop scandal had been a long time coming.
While some labels that had initially threatened legal action over negative reports about their stars have now apologized, for years they have protected the reputation of their top talent. Previous scandals involving male pop stars have not forced the level of reckoning being seen today.
Another young star named by police in the scandal is Jung Joon-young, who admitted earlier this month to having "filmed women without their consent" and shared it online.
Jung was arrested Thursday and faces up to five years in prison. Speaking to the press outside court, he said he was "truly sorry."
"I admit to all charges against me. I will not challenge the charges brought by the investigative agency, and I will humbly accept the court's decision," he said. "I bow my head in apology to the women who were victimized by my actions."
The singer has faced similar accusations in the past, with prosecutors dropping a case in 2016 due to "insufficient evidence" against the young singer. Jung did not respond to a request for comment about that case.
The allegations did little to dent Jung's stardom, with the singer appearing on a popular television show shortly after the scandal.
"The management companies focus all their power on shielding the artists from consequences. The artists end up thinking that their mistakes will not affect them," said journalist Jung Duk-hyung, the culture expert.
According to Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, it hasn't just been labels shielding K-Pop stars. Police officers have also been accused of intervening in investigations to protect stars. This month, South Korea's head of police Min Gap-ryong vowed to "root out" police collusion no matter the rank of those involved.

K-Pop is not just an industry that only produces male stars -- scantily clad female groups including Girls' Generation and Red Velvet are also wildly popular. But the highly sexualized image of female K-Pop stars has been blamed by some of driving the objectification of women.
"The mistreatment of women in Korean society, particularly the voyeuristic and sexually objectifying treatment of women's bodies, is deeply enmeshed in K-Pop," said CedarBough Saeji, an expert in Korean culture and society at the University of British Columbia.
"Videos of male idols often (feature) objectified female dancers, and videos of female idols objectify the idols themselves," Saeji said. "Young women and men are being sold the idea that a woman's success is tied to being an object, and this has dangerous ramifications for society."
Female fans cheer at a K-Pop event in Suwol, South Korea, in 2016. The recent scandal has exposed the wide power imbalance between men and women in the East Asian nation. 
Female fans cheer at a K-Pop event in Suwol, South Korea, in 2016. The recent scandal has exposed the wide power imbalance between men and women in the East Asian nation.
South Korea struggles with other gender issues, with the pay gap between men and women among the worst in the developed world. In 2018, the country ranked 30 out of 36 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development nations for women's employment, even though the country has the highest tertiary education rate of the group for women age 25 to 34.
"You can never feel comfortable in your own body if you're a woman here," one spy cam victim told CNN last year. "Just because I'm born as a woman, people objectify me. People objectify my body, even when I'm in the most private place."
With that sort of harassment so entrenched, experts warn that progress in tackling how men exploit women's bodies could be slow.

Belt, Road high on visit agenda www.chinadaily.com.cn

Ambassadors anticipate reinforced cooperation, boosted multilateralism on Xi's trip to Italy

President Xi Jinping left Beijing for Rome on Thursday, kicking off his first overseas trip of the year — one that is aimed at broadening areas of cooperation and injecting new impetus into Sino-European ties.

During his state visit to Italy, the first stop of a six-day tour that will take him to three nations, Xi and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte will jointly witness the signing of intergovernmental cooperation documents in fields of diplomacy, economy and trade, and culture, as well as commercial agreements in infrastructure, machinery and finance.

The two countries will also work to strengthen Belt and Road cooperation.

The ambassadors of the two countries said they also hope Xi's visit will send out a clear signal that China and Italy are joining hands in promoting open and fruitful cooperation, and will serve to uphold multilateralism and rules-based global trading.

"It is in the interest of the two peoples as well as the entire international community," said Italian Ambassador to China Ettore Sequi.

"We need to work together within a fair, rules-based international trade system on a level-playing field to pull the global economy back on a path of strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth," Sequi told China Daily in a written interview.

Further opening up of our economies, societies and cultures is also conducive to the development of the two countries, he added.

The Italian ambassador described the two countries as good trade partners whose bilateral trade has been growing steadily.

Last year, bilateral trade volume reached $54.23 billion amid a global economic downturn, and two-way investment between China and Italy exceeded $20 billion, according to sources at China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"We want to expand our exports to China, rebalance our trade deficit and bring more products and services from Italy to the Chinese market," Sequi said.

"Italy can offer the Chinese people quality, innovation, design, and customer care among other things," he added, noting that Italy has been closely watching the reforms and policies made by the Chinese government related to market access for foreign products and services.

Calling Italy "a trusted friend and good partner within the European Union", Chinese Ambassador to Italy Li Ruiyu said Xi's visit will open a new chapter in the bilateral relationship — one that has already been on a fast track for many years.

He described bilateral cooperation in various areas as being "full of vitality" and described high-level contacts between the two countries as "maintaining sound momentum".

The Italian government has responded positively to the Belt and Road Initiative, a move that Li said shows Italy believes there is much to explore in terms of win-win cooperation between the two countries.

Paolo Gentiloni, then prime minister of Italy, attended the first Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing in May 2017.

Italian Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio signed a memorandum of understanding with China covering third-party market cooperation during his visit to China last year.

Li said many Italian port cities are increasingly interested in participating in the infrastructure and logistical cooperation associated with the BRI, and that they have noted the investments made by China COSCO Shipping Ports and Port of Qingdao in expanding and modernizing the port of Vado Ligure, near Genoa.

Contact the writers at zhoujin@chinadaily.com.cn

Building bridges: Last steel beam linking Russia-China railway bridge connected www.rt.com

The first cross-border railway bridge between China and Russia over the Amur River has been connected from both sides. The bridge, which will be operational this year, is expected to take bilateral trade to new highs.
The 2,209-meter-long (1.4 miles) structure links Russia’s Far East with China’s northernmost Heilongjiang province. The full completion of the cross-border bridge (railway and highway parts) is scheduled for July.

ADB, LEAP to back 15 MW in Mongolia with $18.7m loan www.pv-magazine.com

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Leading Asia’s Private Infrastructure Fund (LEAP) have agreed to provide an $18.7 million loan to support the development of a 15 MW solar project in Mongolia.

Erdenet Mining Corporation becomes 100 percent state-owned enterprise www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar/MONTSAME/ “Erdenet Mining Corporation becomes a state-owned enterprise according to the decision of today’s Cabinet meeting, reported Minister of Justice and Home Affairs Ts.Nyamdorj.

Ulaanbaatar city competitiveness index rises 7 percent www.zgm.mn

The Economic Policy and Competitiveness Research Center (EPCRC) disclosed the results of research on district competitiveness, which was conducted for two years since 2017.

More Border Blues! Mongolian coal denied entry to China www.news.mn

Chinese Customs officials at the Urad Middle Banner, an administrative region in North China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, rejected 182 trucks containing 19,540 tonnes of “unqualified” Mongolia-origin coal during the period between last November 27 and March 9, according to ‘China Quality News’, a news portal operated by China’s State Administration for Market Regulation.

China wants soft power. But censorship is stifling its film industry www.cnn.mn

Beijing-based film director Huang Han has had one of the worst weeks of his life, courtesy of the Chinese government's strict censors.

He says his independent, low-budget romance flick, set for an online domestic release in 2019, has been hit by an insoluble problem: how to show the male protagonist smoking without giving the cigarette screen time.

"The government's inspection of films has been getting stricter," says Huang, 30, who spoke under a pseudonym to avoid damaging his career. "Only the really famous directors might get a pass. All the rest of us have to follow strict protocol."
In 2014, President Xi Jinping called for a stronger national effort to boost China's global popularity in proportion to its economic rise. "We should increase China's soft power, give a good Chinese narrative and better communicate China's message to the world," he said.
Last month, China had an unexpected win in this arena, after Netflix announced that it would stream Chinese sci-fi blockbuster "The Wandering Earth," which grossed nearly $700 million at the global box office, in more than 190 countries.
But that's a rare case of a Chinese hit at home making it abroad.
Unless the Communist Party relaxes its censorship of domestic films, experts say Beijing's dreams of wielding Chinese soft power globally through its film industry could stall.
Matthias Niedenführ, media specialist at the University of Tubingen's China Center, says a top-down government-dictated approach is unlikely to produce popular international hits.
"French film, Korean TV and Japanese anime are all creative products that are the result of a creative environment and bottom-up processes," he says. "The irony is that China desperately wants international recognition."
Hip-hop, tattoos and blurred ears
The steady encroachment of censorship has been sapping Chinese filmmakers' creativity for years.
Western lifestyles, cleavage, homosexuality and time travel were strongly discouraged in guidelines laid out in 2016. Then in January 2018, China's censorship bureau, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film, and Television (SAPPRFT), launched an attack on the country's burgeoning sub-cultures.

In January 2019, Chinese regulators appeared to begin blurring the ears of men who were wearing earrings.
Huang says these restrictions have stifled a range of genres that were previously guaranteed money-makers, such as Japanese-style horror movies, his own specialty.
"Superstitions are not well received during inspection (of a film). An unofficial rule is that ghosts are only allowed to appear if a character is dreaming," he says.
"Censors now expect films to have a strong educational component, that can provide positive energy for young Chinese."
"Positive energy" is a catch-all term, commonly used by Chinese politicians and state media, to encourage an optimistic, pro-government attitude in the country's films and television programs.
Film directors seem to be listening -- and falling in line with the government can be lucrative.
China's highest-grossing movie in 2018 was "Operation Red Sea," which made $5.7 billion at the domestic box office and told the story of a Chinese naval unit's glorious rescue mission off the coast of Africa.
Soft power at home ... but not away
While Chinese films are popular with domestic audiences, so are movies from Hollywood.
For three weeks in January, "Bumblebee" -- part of the Transformers franchise -- topped the country's box office. In February, the American movie "Alita: Battle Angel" was extremely popular, while this month "Captain Marvel" has been a hit with audiences.
The US film industry is successful in China -- likely to become the world's largest cinema market in coming years, according to industry insiders -- even though regulators only allow a limited number of foreign films to be screened each year.
China has not enjoyed the same success in Western markets. Italian film director Gianluigi Perrone says that is because while Hollywood films often also carry a patriotic message, it is done with greater subtlety.
The messages in Chinese films have to be so explicit that it's too direct for Western audiences. It overcomes the entertaining part.

"The 'soft power' in US films has been very subliminal and subtle since the post-WW2 era," says Perrone, who has experienced censorship in China. "The messages in Chinese films have to be so explicit that it's too direct for Western audiences. It overcomes the entertaining part."
Consequently, some independent filmmakers who want to create more nuanced films are bypassing the domestic market.
Chinese-American director Hao Wu's documentary on China's live streaming phenomenon, "People's Republic of Desire," for example, has been aired outside China, picking up several international awards at prestigious events such as SXSW and the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival. It has yet to be shown in China, due to the government's disapproval of live streaming after a crackdown in late 2017.
But that tactic doesn't always avoid the wrath of the censors.
In February, renowned Chinese director Zhang Yimou's film "One Second" was unexpectedly withdrawn from the 69th Berlinale film festival.
According to the film's official Weibo account, it was taken off the program at the last minute due to "technical reasons" -- a term that is often code for government censorship. The movie depicts the Cultural Revolution, a sensitive period in Chinese history.
Popularity no savior
Even huge popularity is no longer enough to save a director or a seemingly anodyne piece of entertainment from the censor's gaze.
The "Story of Yanxi Palace" was watched by more than half a billion Chinese viewers in a single day last August. It has been streamed more than 15 billion times and was the most Googled TV show in 2018.
But in January, a state-run newspaper ran an editorial criticizing its "negative influence on society," noting that characters in the period drama set in the court of the Qianlong Emperor were more popular than communist heroes in state propaganda.
Shortly after the editorial, several local TV stations unexpectedly canceled rebroadcasts of the show.
"(Chinese TV) regulators know that with the January shafting of these shows they are slaughtering one of the few cash cows that could bring China soft power," says Niedenführ, of the University of Tubingen. "But Beijing currently clearly prefers domestic social engineering over increased publicity abroad."
There is no sign that Beijing will ease its censorship anytime soon. When asked about the shock cancellation of the Berlin premiere of "One Second," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying avoided the question.
"The Wandering Earth" is a Chinese sci-fi film released on the New Year holiday which has taken the country by storm.
"The Wandering Earth" is a Chinese sci-fi film released on the New Year holiday which has taken the country by storm.
"I know the hottest movie now is 'The Wandering Earth,'" she said, directing viewers to a film with a more pro-China narrative. "I don't know if you have watched or not. I'd recommend it."
Today, directors who want to create independent or unconventional films in China must either sterilize their work or look elsewhere for a successful audience, says Huang.
It remains to be seen how that will further China's push to increase its soft power abroad.
"I don't think this new genre of 'positive energy' films can be well received outside the country," Huang says.

Mongolia to build new sports complex for 2020 children of Asia games www.anocolympic.org

Construction work on a new winter sports complex as well as a stadium for athletics and football in Ulaanbaatar will get underway next month.

Returning sight to Mongolians: new equipment transforms lives www.news.mn

The Mongolian Health Ministry has provided equipment worth MNT 1.2 billion for improving diagnosis, surgery and treatment of eye diseases in 2018. This has made it possible to perform retina surgery at the First National Hospital in the capital, Ulaanbaatar,and also saved money for patients who would otherwise have had to go abroad for treatment. Now, the hospital is performing retina surgery every day. Since last year, doctors have successfully performed eye surgery on over 200 patients.