The BBC's documentary 'Burning Sun,' released on the BBC News Korea YouTube channel on May 19, has garnered nearly 10 million views and 37,000 comments as of Tuesday. Captured from YouTube

"It's tragic that this documentary was released by the BBC and not Korean media."

This comment, posted on the BBC's YouTube channel "BBC News Korea," refers to the documentary "Burning Sun: Exposing the Secret K-pop Chat Groups," which has received nearly 60,000 likes.

The one-hour documentary garnered close to 10 million views within three weeks of its release.

What makes this documentary about an incident from five years ago so compelling, and why couldn't Korean media approach it the same way as the BBC?

Focus on high-profile perpetrators over plight of victims

The Burning Sun scandal that swept through Korean society in 2019 is complex. It involved drug-fueled sexual exploitation at the Burning Sun nightclub in Gangnam, Seoul, operated by former BIGBANG member Seungri and popular singer Jung Joon-young's sexual assaults and illegal filming, and collusion between multiple celebrities and the police.

At the time, Korean media mainly approached the incident as a "celebrity crime" or "drug crime," often focusing on the sensational details of the perpetrators' actions.

In contrast, the BBC's perspective was different. They highlighted that these incidents were horrific sex crimes against women.

The documentary focused on the voices of the sexual assault victims and the journalists who faced harassment during their investigations.

This shift in perspective revealed new information, such as the crucial role the late singer Goo Ha-ra played in uncovering the collusion between the perpetrators and the police, and it made clear that the perpetrators received disproportionately light punishments.

The documentary also revisited Jung Joon-young's sexual assault case from 2016, three years before the Burning Sun incident, showing how long Korean society has been indifferent to sexual crimes.

Kang Kyung-yoon, an SBS reporter who appeared in the BBC documentary "Burning Sun" discusses the sexual exploitation committed by Jung Joon-young and his associates. Captured from YouTube

Little interest regarding structural issues behind crime

Furthermore, it warned that sexual exploitation in Gangnam clubs continues in the same manner as the Burning Sun case.

Prof. Hong Ji-ah from Kyung Hee University's Media Department pointed out, "Comparing what the BBC documentary said and what Korean media didn't say highlights what Korean media prioritize and invest their time and effort into. Korean media often focus on the actions of perpetrators when covering sexual crimes and show little interest in structural issues like punishment and prevention of recurrence."

The BBC's investigative reporting team, BBC Eye, began research for the hour-long documentary three years ago.

Kang Kyung-yoon, an SBS reporter who had secured and reported on the group chat conversations of Jung Joon-young, received interview requests from broadcasters worldwide, including the BBC and America's ABC, after the perpetrators were arrested.

This contrasts with the practice of Korean media, which competitively covers incidents as they happen but rarely revisits them once the perpetrators are in custody.

Ko Eun-sang, an MBC reporter who appeared in the BBC documentary to share the investigation process of the drug-assisted sexual exploitation at Burning Sun, said, "I was very surprised when the BBC production team contacted me in 2022. I thought, 'Isn't this case already over?' and 'Are they really going to investigate this when public interest has waned so much?'"

The BBC documentary 'Burning Sun' revealed for the first time that late singer Goo Ha-ra played a crucial role in uncovering the collusion between celebrities and the police. Captured from YouTube

While Korean media companies do have investigative teams dedicated to long-term reporting, a disproportionately large amount of manpower and resources are allocated to producing daily news.

The practice of not delving deeply into issues already covered by other media, along with the frequent reassignment of reporters every one or two years, also hampers in-depth reporting.

The BBC documentary had an even greater impact as it was released shortly after Jung Joon-young's release from Mokpo Prison on March 19, prompting deep societal reflection.

However, among Korean media outlets, only News1 covered Jung's release. Most Korean media considered the Burning Sun case to be closed.

Lee Eun-gyu, a producer from KBS's current affairs and culture department, said, "I once considered a story timed to the release of another sex crime perpetrator, but couldn't overcome the prevailing logic of 'What more can be done once they've served their sentence?' After watching the Burning Sun documentary, I realized that even after judicial decisions, there are still stories to be told."

Ko Eun-sang, an MBC reporter, appears in the BBC documentary to explain the drug-assisted sexual exploitation that occurred at the infamous Gangnam nightclub. Captured from YouTube

Organizational culture and insensitivity to women issues

In Korean media, women's issues have often been treated as trivial matters. Crimes against women and other related topics are still frequently covered in a superficial or sensational manner, with little attention paid to structural issues or the voices of the victims.

Prof. Hong pointed out, "The reason why Korean media did not follow up on the Burning Sun case is clear: they don't think it's important."

This problem is largely influenced by the organizational culture within the media industry.

"Like most organizations in our society, the media industry is even more conservative and entrenched in a male-centric viewpoint than other industries," said Kim Soo-jin, an official from the National Union of Media Workers and a former OBS producer. "To achieve in-depth and victim-centered reporting on sex crimes, the decision-making structures and organizational culture regarding article topics need to change towards gender equality."

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, sister publication of The Korea times, is translated by generative AI and edited by staff of The Korea Times.