"It Won't Happen This Time" - The Reality of K-Pop Stage Safety

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Source: The Independent
Recently, a video featuring a South Korean girl group member falling down five times while performing on a slippery stage went viral, drawing various responses from viewers. Her name is Yuju, and she is a member of the group “Girlfriend” that rose to fame in mid-2015. The video was filmed by a fan at a live show in Injae, Kangwon-Province.[1] “The performers were compelled to continue the show despite the stage still being slippery due to the rain. The venue’s conditions made it unavoidable for members to fall during their performance while acting out large dance movements across the stage.

Most people praised her professionalism in spite of poor conditions, and even foreign media joined in to credit her passion.[2] Time wrote, “Despite the blunders the girls regained their composure and carried on with their high-energy performance like true professionals, demonstrating to us all that no matter how many times life knocks you down, just get back up and carry on."[3] As a result of such attention, the video exceeded one million views on YouTube, and a surprising 3 million views on Facebook (as of September 7th), as their title song “Me Gustas Tu” shot up in South Korean music charts.[4]

Consequently speaking, all turned out well for Girlfriend. The group turned their misfortune into an opportunity, winning the public’s approval of their effort and potential, rising to the center of public attention. However, is this all that matters? Is it really “okay” to be comfortable about such situations? Should idol groups be forced to endure mental and physical pain as a trade-off for fame? It can be argued that the incident did play a significant role in the public recognition of the group; nevertheless, the accident was clearly the fault of the organizers, having neglected the unsafe conditions of the stage. This apparent fault cannot be justified or made up in any aspect, regardless of whether Girlfriend benefited from the situation or not. Yet, some media even called the situation “fortuitous” for the group, for it is so easy to be forgotten amongst waves of new idol groups, and this incident was a great opportunity for the group to imprint their presence on public consciousness. However, although the members were not seriously injured and in fact, gained popularity through the incident, it could have led to much more serious results such as injury, which would have interfered with even “normal” performances. 

That being said, it might be quite puzzling for many why idol groups are performing under such hazardous conditions in the first place. Generally speaking, such incidents result from the lack of awareness towards safety in South Korean society. This lack of awareness as well as the lack of stage safety experts make it realistically difficult for performance venues to actively implement safety measures[5]. Poor working conditions and low social recognition are the main reasons why so little people are willing to take on the job, a condition that cannot be alleviated in a short amount of time.

Furthermore, Girlfriend’s case is just one of the many accidents that took place as idol groups were asked to perform under hazardous conditions. Due to fierce competition, many idol groups are simply forced to tolerate such circumstances for the opportunity to perform at these venues. As the sponsoring body and organizers of shows and concerts have great influence in choosing the performers, idol groups are at a perpetually weaker position, making it difficult for them to ask that strong safety measures be implemented.

Generally speaking, concerts and mass entertainment are relatively new cultural phenomenons in South Korea, undergoing numerous trials and errors. Although the safety of those attending these cultural events should never be subject to trial and error, past incidents have proven otherwise. For instance, in 2014, there was a collapse accident in an outdoor theater of Pangyo Techno Valley that led to 25 casualties, with 16 dead and 11 wounded.[6] The show featured the famous female K-pop group “4 minute,” and people crowded on a ventilation window to get a better view of the group performing.[7] The window collapsed, certainly not designed to bear such heavy weight. The accident was attributed to the lack of awareness, and partly to the disorderly attitude of the audience, reinforcing the necessity for better safety measures in the future.

On the other hand, progress has been reported as suggested by the recent example of EXO, a South Korean boy group extremely popular among K-Pop fans. EXO was the first artist to host a dome concert in South Korea, which was a huge success thanks to the preventive measures the organizers took to ensure the safety of both the audience and the artists alike.[8] Unlike prior idol group concerts, the organizing body stated that all seats will be “sitting” seats, for the steep slope of the dome could leave fans prone to falling. Also, they increased the number of staffs as well as established prior contact with the fire station, hospital nearby and the local police forces for emergencies.[9] The measures proved their effectiveness, clearly shown by the result of the concert.

In a nutshell, the mentality of “it won’t happen this time” needs to be eliminated, for safety of the performers should be the highest priority. Especially given the emotional elevation and concentration of people in a limited amount of space, concert hosts should be more than cautious when organizing shows. Moreover, idol groups should not be asked to endure mental and physical pain for the sake of fame gained through noise marketing or catastrophes that could have been prevented in the first place. Hopefully, Girlfriend’s case will be a catalyst for improvement towards a more mature perception of safety in South Korean mass entertainment.


References
[1] Seul-Ki Park, “꽈당 연발 여자친구 동영상 히트, 빗속 투혼에 가린 안전,” Asiatoday, October 10th, 2015, accessed October 13th, 2015, http://www.asiatoday.co.kr/view.php?key=20150910001417502
[2] Min-ku Kwak and Mina Seong, “걸그룹 여자친구 꽈당 영상, 외신 연일 보도 4일만에 350만 조회,” Focus News, September 8th, 2015, accessed October 13th, 2015, http://m.focus.kr/view.php?key=2015090800174716263
[3] “This Video of a K-Pop Singer Falling 8 Times in 1 Song will Inspire You to Keep Going No Matter What,” Time, September 7th, 2015, accessed October 12th, 2015, http://time.com/4024228/k-pop-gfriend-fall-korea-yuju/
[4] Su Jeong Park, “여자친구, 빗속 ‘꽈당’ 역주행이 가져다 준 교훈,” Hankyung TenAsia, September 8th, 2015, accessed October 12th, 2015, http://tenasia.hankyung.com/archives/665013
[5] Gilwoo, Nam, “공연장, 무대 안전도 필요하다,” Kyung-In News, August 19th, 2007, Accessed October 22nd, 2015, http://www.kyeongin.com/main/view.php?key=346716
[6] “판교테크노밸리 야외공연장 환풍구 붕괴, 16명 사망, 부상자 11명 중 2명은 가까스로 추라 면해,” Chosun.com, October 17th, 2014, accessed October 14th, 2015, http://news.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2014/10/17/2014101703155.html?related_all
[7] Ibid.
[8] Su Jeong Park, “국내 최초 엑소 돔 콘서트, 어떻게 안전사고 예방했나,” TenAsia, October 11th, 2015, accessed October 13th, 2015, http://tenasia.hankyung.com/archives/712633
[9] Ibid.

So Yoon Lee is a freshman at Duke University.