"Likes" and "Subscriptions" Mean Doing Anything? One-Person Broadcast Crossing the Line... Even Trespassing Prison

PopcornTV BJs Live Broadcast After Trespassing Cheongsong Prison
40-Minute Stream Introducing Prison Building
Criticism Grows Over Excessive Personal Broadcast Content
Experts Say "Ethical Maturity and Institutional Measures Needed"

Photo by Gyeongbuk Northern Second Prison (Cheongsong Prison)

[Asia Economy reporters Han Seung-gon and Kim Young-eun] Recently, some internet broadcasting BJs have sparked controversy by illegally driving cars into prisons and conducting live broadcasts.

Additionally, a YouTuber once hosted a broadcast where actual convicted fraudsters gathered to play games, raising concerns about secondary harm to victims. Meanwhile, another solo broadcaster used edible chalk as a 'mukbang' (eating show) material, causing anxiety that elementary school students might imitate this behavior. As a result, the content of broadcasts by solo broadcasters such as BJs and YouTubers is becoming increasingly extreme, drawing criticism that it may pose moral and ethical problems.

According to the North Gyeongsang Province Northern Correctional Institution No. 1 (Cheongsong Prison) on the 9th, at around 3:20 a.m. that day, two BJs from the internet broadcasting platform 'Popcorn TV' lied to the prison gate staff, saying they had come to pick up a released inmate, then drove a car and trespassed into the prison.

One of them claimed, "I live here, so I know the inside well," and conducted a live broadcast on their account. Pointing to a building, they used slang referring to the execution chamber, asking the accompanying BJ, "Is this the necktie factory?" and displayed such behavior.

They conducted a prison introduction broadcast for about 40 minutes, then ended the broadcast saying, "Now we will go to Pohang Prison," and "If you support us, next week we will try to enter North Gyeongsang Province Northern Correctional Institution No. 2."

According to Popcorn TV users, the concurrent viewers at the time approached 800, and some viewers who watched the broadcast reported to the Ministry of Justice duty office that "a private vehicle is roaming inside the prison." Another viewer reacted, "They showed the buildings for over 30 minutes and seemed to have driven around the prison walls 4 to 5 times. Does this make any sense?"

Inside Cheongsong Prison, driving by the general public is prohibited except for police official vehicles requiring investigation visits. However, authorized visitors can park outside the main gate parking lot and then move inside. Correctional authorities confirmed the trespassing through closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage and are investigating the identities and facts related to the incident.

The Cheongsong Prison side stated, "They absolutely did not enter buildings where inmates are housed. There are staff residences inside the prison walls, and authorized staff sometimes come and go at dawn," clarifying that they did not enter the main correctional facility building where inmates are held.

Some internet broadcasting BJs are producing provocative content for profit, which has become a social issue.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

In this way, the broadcast content of solo internet broadcasters such as BJs and YouTubers is becoming more provocative over time. On the 15th of last month, a YouTuber with 2 million subscribers posted a video on their channel showing actual convicted fraudsters gathered to play the Mafia game. The purpose of producing this video was to see how well fraudsters, skilled at deceiving others, could lie in the Mafia game.

Before starting the game, the YouTuber explained, "We gathered people with actual fraud convictions who have deceived others to play the Mafia game," adding, "We even verified their criminal records. Many ask how we recruited them; actually, five were supposed to come, but one ran away."

Some netizens who saw this video expressed concerns that having convicted criminals appear on YouTube broadcasts playing games could cause secondary harm to victims and that the reckless planning was generally uncomfortable. One netizen criticized, "It is morally wrong for criminals to be consumed as content and for the Mafia game’s fun elements to be seen as entertainment."

Since last year, there have also been concerns about the use of edible chalk, rubber gloves, paper, glue, and other items as materials for so-called 'mukbang' broadcasts, with worries that minors might imitate these actions. Although these are processed with edible coloring to look like household items such as flour and sugar, caution is necessary for children watching the videos.

Reference photo. The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article.

A 23-year-old university student A, who creates YouTube upload videos as a hobby, pointed out that "it is necessary to clearly recognize the boundary between what can and cannot be done" in this situation.

A said, "It is true that videos with content that others can generally experience do not get many views, so everyone tries to plan content that differentiates them from other creators," adding, "However, causing harm to others or engaging in ethically inappropriate behavior through wrong methods is fundamentally wrong."

An expert emphasized the need for stricter institutional measures in spaces where content is distributed.

Professor Kwak Geum-ju of Seoul National University's Department of Psychology said, "Everyone has a desire to receive attention, and in the era of solo media, this can be easily expressed, so people keep looking for more stimulating elements." She continued, "As excessive competition occurs, people try to use more bizarre and different content, which has led to this situation," explaining, "As a result, many become obsessed with the thought, 'People will be shocked if they see this,' causing a breakdown in ethical thinking balance."

Professor Kwak also said, "Public broadcasts have well-established ethics committees and disciplinary review regulations, but YouTube and personal broadcasts have weak sanctions, so this will likely develop into a bigger social problem," emphasizing, "Individuals need to have ethical and moral maturity, and institutional measures to manage this will also be necessary."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.