Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
C9 Entertainment and YouTube show No Back Tak Jae Hoon are under fire for their treatment of Cignature member Jeewon, and both have released statements in response.
Recently fans have been outraged at the show and company after AV star Yuna Ogura suggested that Jeewon would be top-tier in her industry and offered to help her debut (and also did a challenge with her). While that incident was the jumping off point for this, the backlash to this show in particular actually started with Jeewon’s first guest appearance on the show almost a year ago, where they spoke about her getting attention for her body. Meanwhile, C9 has been almost constantly under fire for sending her on these types of shows (there have been others in a similar vein) and for capitalizing on exposure of Jeewon in things like their recent comeback music video.
As such, C9 has released an explanation through a statement, basically saying Jeewon approved of all of it.
“Regarding the controversy that occurred in the episode featuring Tanaka & Ogura Yuna, we had a serious conversation with Jeewon about the contents over a long period of time.
Knowing the concept of the No Bbaku Tak Jae Hoon broadcast, Jeewon approached the filming with utmost dedication and without any emotional issues. During filming, both Tak Jae Hoon and Shin Gyu Jin actively discussed issues related to the content that could potentially trouble Jeewon. But Jeewon confirmed having no objections to the broadcast version shared by the production team in advance, adhering faithfully to her role on the No Bbaku Tak Jae Hoon channel.
C9 Entertainment will continue to communicate effectively with the No Bbaku Tak Jae Hoon production team. We eagerly anticipate our artist Jeewon confidently fulfilling her part as a member of No Bbaku Tak Jae Hoon.
As Jeewon takes on this important role for a channel that so many love, we hope you’ll continue to support her. And we hope you will continue to support Cignature’s future activities as well.”
The production team of No Bbaku Tak Jae Hoon released an explanation and apology.
“First and foremost, to all viewers who may have felt uncomfortable watching the recent ‘Tanaka & Yuna Ogura’ episode, we sincerely apologize without any excuses.
This issue is entirely due to the oversight of the production team. We acknowledge that there was a lack of consideration for Jeewon, who recently joined as the host, as the viewers have expressed. The production team met with Jeewon and representatives from C9 Entertainment to convey a heartfelt apology.
Furthermore, during the filming, Mr. Tak Jae Hoon realized that the questions directed at Jeewon were inappropriate. And while he opposed it, we apologize to him for the editing process that may not have properly reflected his intentions, done solely for the sake of entertainment.
We have produced the program with the concept of providing enjoyment to male viewers under the 노빠꾸 (no backing down) concept. However, as the channel has grown with overwhelming love and interest, we deeply regret not being more aware of the potential societal controversy our oversight could cause, and we apologize once again.
Following this controversy, the entire production team promises to pay closer attention throughout the content creation process. We will strive to repay the support of those who cheer for us with the entertainment of No Bbaku Tak Jae Hoon.
As you can imagine, nobody who was upset about Jeewon’s treatment was satisfied with the statements, and they probably made it even worse. C9 was almost apologetic to the YouTube channel more than anything, and basically said Jeewon wanted to do this type of content.
Meanwhile, as you’ll probably notice, the YouTube channel’s apology specifically mentions male fans because … well, that’s who the target audience is. And for better or worse, the channel is not some niche thing either, as they have 1.7 million subs and their list of guests is honestly impressive from Hyori to Chuu to Jessi and everybody between, so avoiding losing that access to the mainstream has to be top priority even if their fans get pissed off.
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In terms of the channel itself, it’s basically marketed as an edgy talk show (for mainstream Korean entertainment standards). Obviously the kind of content the show does and who they are trying to appeal to for views can be taken issue with in general, though as long as it’s with the consent of participants, it’s hard to solely blame the companies and producers specifically and not everybody involved. Thus, it’s important for C9 to claim that Jeewon is doing so on her own accord, even if fans doubt it.
Personally, I’m inherently skeptical of any idol giving consent to an image while under the initial contract with a company, because they don’t have leverage at that point, and many of them change directions in image after moving on. That said, and I suppose this is a hot take considering the backlash, but I could actually believe Jeewon approved of this just because it makes career sense to me. The YouTube channel in question is popular, Tak Jae Hoon is an award winning comedian (as is Yuna Ogura, to much controversy), and he’s already put Kim Yewon down the path to success with her own show after she was previously a host with him. Thus, the brutal calculus could be that Jeewon sees attaching herself to this older male comedian (as others have done, honestly) is a better career bet than prioritizing her image with Cignature, and C9 allows it and/or encourages it cause they get a cut of that. Basically … I have some reservations about trying to get her cancelled from this show because it might actually hurt only Jeewon and her plans, and the show itself seems unlikely to go away regardless of what people do.
Anyway, I get the complaints, either from fans of the group or about the reasons Jeewon potentially feels this is her best bet to remain relevant. Like I said about their latest release, it’s unlikely this Jeewon focus and blatant sexualization/pandering is good for them as a whole, but it seems mostly like C9 doesn’t care and is willing to do whatever to recoup their investment. So I do just wonder if it’s possible that this only impacts her in the long run and all the criticism is inadvertently going to be taken by her that way.
