Burning Sun: Exposing The Secret K-pop Chat Groups - BBC World Service Documentaries Buon Martedi 12 Maggio [nI9xCO2pHpP]

Warning: This film includes shooter descriptions some viewers may find distressing.

A #BBCEye investigation into three K-pop stars who were sharing evidence of sexual crimes in secret chat groups.

UPDATE: The BBC has removed a short section of this film on 21/05/24 as it contained a factual inaccuracy: It wrongly attributed legal advice given to victim Kyung-mi as from a the chi lawyer from broadcaster KBS, when in reality it was advice from a different lawyer.

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In South Korea, K-pop stars have fame, fortune and millions of female fans. But some led a double life, inhabiting a hidden world where videos of women being drugged, assaulted and humiliated were shared. This #BBCEye documentary tells the story of the female journalists who took on the task of investigating the secret chat groups of prominent K-pop stars - and paid a high personal price.

Molka is the Korean term for secretly taking explicit photos or videos without consent. Its a crime thats increased elevenfold in the last fifteen years in South Korea. Three friends, all successful K-pop stars, were sharing images in which unconscious women were sexually assaulted. Some of the messages contained evidence that two of the stars, Jung Joon-young and Choi Jong-hoon had subjected a woman to extreme sexual violence.

Their crimes would never have been discovered had the phone data of Jung Joon-young not been leaked. The information eventually ended up in the hands of Korean journalist Kang Kyung-yoon, who began a painstaking process of verifying hundreds of explicit photos and videos. The scandal also involved a top Gangnam club, Burning Sun, where another of the friends, Big Bang star Seungri, was a DJ and CEO. Women were being drugged inside the nightclub, and sexually assaulted by men attending the club. Kang and fellow-journalist Park tell the story of their investigation and how they became the targets for exposing the stars.

00:00 Intro

02:48 What is 'molka'?

03:40 Jung Joon-young accused of molka

08:13 The data leak

10:09 Meet Choi Jong-hoon and Seungri

11:11 Global investment in the business plan

12:49 A pattern of exploitation

17:58 Gangnam nightlife and the business of assault

20:44 The cost of reporting

22:43 The VIP client experience

32:32 The 'dark fortress' - a secretive space

33:49 The red bathroom

37:37 The lawyer meets the journalists

39:54 Hara assists the investigation

42:33 The senior police contact

45:38 Accountability and arrests

47:27 More victims come forward

49:12 Women protest for further protection

50:52 Hara's personal crisis

53:58 The sentencing

55:48 The future of Sex and Power

Watch this documentary in KOREAN here: , in MANDARIN here: and in THAI here:

Listen to the podcast series "Intrigue: Burning sun" here:

To watch more investigative journalism from our award-winning BBC Eye team check out this documentary playlist:

Credits:

Head of Longform - Liz Gibbons

Editor BBC Investigations - Marc Perkins

Executive Producers - Monica Garnsey, Mustafa Khalili, Kavita Puri

Produced and Directed by - Kai Lawrence

Director Of Photography - Kai Lawrence

Film Editors - Kai Lawrence, Jeong-One Park, Renee Edwards BFE

Narrator - Kate Fleetwood

Assistant Editors: Douglas Bunnage-Flavell, Ali Turab Qazi

Additional Research - Loonie Park, Shuyue Ren

Original Music - Jason Luxton

Lighting Cameraman - Nils Clauss

Graphic Designer - Douglas McGinness

Colourist - Michael Sanders

Online Editor - Dominic McMahon

Dubbing Mixer - Ross Millership

Executive Producers, Impact - Charlotte Hayward, Vara Szajkowski

Impact Producers - Baya Cat, Rajni Boddington, Alison Gee, Anusha Kumar, Bethany Rose, Emaan Warraich, Kulwant Sohal

Assistant Producers - Lee-hyun Choi, Jinny Yeon, Bugyeong Jung, Sinae Hong, Kwon Moon, Keith Park, Max Kim

Associate Producer - Chloe Hadjimatheou

Production Executive - Nayantara Gauba

Production Managers - Suzanne Luu, courteney cox Jessica Butler, Dawn Macdonald, Kate Moore

Production Management Assistant - Catia Da Costa

Production Coordinators - Liza Hodgson, Siobhan Reed, Sameer Hussain, Shima Mashhoor

Archive Sources - MBC, KBS, Yonhap News, YG Entertainment, Mnet, YTN, Voice For The People, Kukmin, Ilbo, Koreans Women Hotline, News1, JTBC, Marie Claire Korea, Dispatch

Voice Actors - Jeni Seo, Jun Noh, Taeho Kim

Special thanks to - Kevin Kim, Pyo Kisik, Lee Seung-Woo

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