Women’s Community Calls for Shin Dong Yup’s Departure from “Animal Farm”: Cultural Critic Fires Back

Last month, on April 25th, Netflix released the original talk show “Risqué Business.” The program, which explores the world of the adult entertainment industry, was already attracting a lot of attention before its release as a new concept talk variety show hosted by MCs Shin Dong Yup and Sung Si Kyung.

However, after “Risqué Business” was released, negative posts surfaced on various women’s communities in Korea. 

Among them, “Women’s Generation,” a representative women’s community in Korea, featured posts criticizing “Risqué Business” and MC Shin Dong Yup.

“Women’s Generation” members left comments such as “Shin Dong Yup is always lacking. I didn’t understand why the public opinion on him suddenly improved,” “There are many other programs… Many families watch TV during dinner time,” “But there’s no need for Shin Dong Yup to be on Animal Farm either. He should leave,” “Animal Farm and Amazing Saturday have already neutralized his image, but this cheap program crossed the line. Shouldn’t you know your position?,” etc.

Afterward, demands for Shin Dong Yup’s departure were posted one after another on SBS “TV Animal Farm” homepage’s viewer board.

The demands for Shin Dong Yup’s departure from “Animal Farm” included opinions such as “Can Shin Dong Yup watch this program (Risqué Business) with his children and family? Isn’t he ashamed?“, “Please reconsider his position as MC on Animal Farm,” “Choose whether you enjoy distorted porn culture or proper culture on public broadcasting,” and “The MC, who is a symbol of a TV show that the whole nation enjoys, is hosting such an outrageous program.“

As the demands for Shin Dong Yup’s departure continued, cultural critic Kim Sung Soo has spoken up.

He said, “Demanding Shin Dong Yup to leave Animal Farm because of Risqué Business is like forcing an actor who played a murderer not to appear on a children’s program because it could have an inappropriate influence. If you set standards in this way, only adult virtuosos should remain on the air.“

He also said, “There are many high-level scenes in SNL, but why can ‘SNL’ air and ‘Risqué Business’ can’t be aired is also unexplainable,” and pointed out that “there will certainly be situations where controversies arise, but (Korean viewers) are too conservative about ‘sex’.”

He added, “If there were more open-minded views on sex, there wouldn’t have been any controversy,” and emphasized that “Korea is in a culturally backward situation. After such controversies arise, I think ‘media education’ is urgently needed.“

Meanwhile, “Risqué Business” is directed by PD Jung Hyo Min, who also directed “Witch Hunt” and “Hyori’s Homestay.” He revealed that “sex” is a common interest among people around the world, but it is a subject that shows significant cultural differences, so through the show, he wanted to delicately deal with stories that are different from ours and sometimes similar.

Source: wikitree.