On 23 February 2018, Club Burning Sun opened its doors for the first time. Club Burning Sun is located at Le Meridien Hotel in South Seoul’s Gangnam neighborhood (Gangnam, from the famous Gangnam Style song, is considered to be the equivalent of Beverly Hills in America). Since then, the club has been attracting the biggest crowds and hosting the best DJs on the peninsula.
Being a nightclub, Club Burning Sun does not have an official website of their own, so a mission statement or a vision statement cannot be said about this club. However, in their own words, they aspire to be “South Korea’s most elegant and finest club.” And to accomplish this vision from its conception, Club Burning Sun spared no expense.
It occupies the hotel’s first and second floors (EDM and Hip-hop themed respectively) with expansive dance floors and top-notch VIP and VVIP accommodation. To prove just how upscale they are, the club purportedly offers a set menu valued at around 100,000,000 won (or around $93,000), complete with 12 liters of premium champagne and Armand de Brignac, along with 10 bottles of its regular sized bottles.
They even go so far as to have a dress code, so that no one looking like they just got out of bed may enter such a luxurious and elegant establishment. All this is to add to the luxury feel of the club and to set them apart from other establishments in Gangnam.
Outside of this, Club Burning Sun does not have an official corporate history due to just how short of a time they’ve been in business.
Now, despite the grandeur of this nightclub and the clear atmosphere of the establishment being one for celebrity VIPs, there is still no reason for the allegations leveled against this club and the staff to have gotten such widespread attention. And in most cases, people would be right. As unfortunate as it is, clubs with conduct such as Club Burning Sun are a dime-a-dozen and anywhere at anytime, a similar incident could pop up without anyone being the wiser. It is a sad fact, but we as people have become desensitized to such things like sex scandals of organizations or establishments.
However, it is not the club itself that draws in the attention of the world, but those involved with Club Burning Sun and their position in both the club hierarchy and the Korean Entertainment world as a whole.
What I mean by this is that a celebrity who is well-known is both a co-owner of Burning Sun, as well as the Director of Public Relations for the nightclub. He has long since been considered the face of the club since its inception, and it is a face that people internationally know all too well.
Seungri, in the Korean Alphabet, is spelled out in a way that means “Victory.” A powerful word for a powerful concept. However, most people do not associate the word with the literal meaning in the Korean language. Instead, the word has become synonymous with the chosen stage name of the youngest member of the internationally known K-Pop boy band, Big Bang.
Born on December 12th, 1990, Lee Seung-hyun has been at the forefront of the Korean entertainment industry ever since his official debut with Big Bang on August 19, 2006, with Big Bang having gone on to become dubbed the “Kings of K-Pop” as well as one of the most influential boy bands for the Korean entertainment industry. As the youngest member of the band, Seungri has had to differentiate himself from his older band members due to the fact that Korea is still largely a society that places high respect and regard for people of a more advanced age. Seungri soon garnered the reputation as the “bad boy” of the group and has since gone on to carve out a unique position in Korea. He has become known as the “Great Seungri,” both to reflect the title of his newest Solo Tour and as a nod to the titular character of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, “The Great Gatsby.”
Such a grandiose nickname is not unfounded, as Club Burning Sun was not Seungri’s first venture into the world of business. Club Burning Sun has been preceded by several businesses by Seungri, including a Japanese ramen restaurant chain, a Belgian waffle cafe, and even a record company co-founded with his agency YG Entertainment. He has even invested in nanotechnology and biotechnology. Jessica Oak at Billboard even goes so far as to write, “Seungri has forged and built an empire all his own during his 13 years in the industry. The superstar has become known as a thriving entrepreneur with business ventures in food, nightlife and music labels”.
Other commenters of Seungri’s rise to fame include Baik Su-jin, a journalist of The Chosun Ilbo. Baik described Seungri’s story as a “rags-to-riches” story when compared to other high-brow celebrities. Baik commented that Seungri was a late bloomer in the spotlight, only coming into his own after the other Big Bang members were absent due to the mandatory military service of at least two years.
Seungri himself has said, “I had a tough time outshining other members of the group, so I studied foreign languages.” He attributes his attempt to succeed at business, in part, because he felt “overlooked and underappreciated” by Big Bang’s fans, being the youngest of the famous group. Seungri felt that business was the one place where he would not have to compete with his hyungs (the Korean honorific of an older male figure).
Seungri has since utilized his popularity as a business asset. One that he and his business partners have benefited from if his successful ventures have been any indication. With such success underneath his belt and his love for the high-life, it is no wonder the 28 year old has garnered the nickname of a similar fashion to Jay Gatsby. He certainly matches the image with the new-money figure in the novel.
…so it is with great irony that a deeper look into his business should reveal the same underlying, underhanded and immoral business practices that Jay Gatsby was suspected of in the novel. And because of Seungri’s involvement, if any, and his relationship to the nightclub, this “dime-a-dozen” outrage soon reached worldwide media coverage.
Kim Sang-kyo (the man assaulted at the club by a club staffer) and his petition for justice and investigation into the inner workings of the club has inadvertently opened up a veritable floodgate of inquiries. Kim coming forward has allowed others to come forward with their own information and knowledge about the practices of the club and the shady nature of the management.
Following the MBC broadcast, KBS (Korean Broadcasting System) soon followed that with a report that added to the wildfire that was the Burning Sun Scandal. They alleged that a former employee of the club came forth and discussed illegal drug use in the VIP rooms. An additional report by MBC, on February 14th of this year, included allegations of a purported VIP client of the club, who said staff solicited him in text messages, offering women who were available for sex, after “preparing them with date rape drugs.”
By 31 January 2019, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (SMPA) took over the case, which included claims of local Gangnam police corruption and collusion with the club’s owners, and formed a team to investigate the allegations of rape, drug use against the Club, Kim’s arrest and any connection with the local police station. The SMPA said their rapid response and follow-up inquiry was due to media attention from Seungri’s connection to the club and Big Bang. They also said that due to club advertising by unofficial “merchandisers” or “MDs,” they had extended their drug-related claims to all Gangnam clubs.
But as said before, if that had been the end of it, with the petition and the investigation into Seungri and his knowledge (or lack of) about the club’s ongoings, and the extended range of police investigations to include most of the clubs in Gangnam, this would have undoubtedly uncovered truths and lies that people have long since become desensitized to. If that had been the end of it, it is likely that all of this would have been over and done with, with no real result or justice coming from this case, despite the big name attachment Seungri brings to this incident.
Unfortunately, it was not the end. Before long, even more allegations and crimes came into the fold of this once simple (yet all the same detestable) situation. Son, even more heinous truths came to light: Seungri was not the only high-profile celebrity to have been involved in the alleged illegal prostitution and soliciting involved in Club Burning Sun and the underbelly of society in South Korea.
For those who don’t know, KakaoTalk (or sometimes KaTalk) is a free mobile instant messaging application for smartphones with free text and free call features, operated by Kakao Corporation. It is also South Korea’s most popular messaging platform. Used by the commonman and celebrities alike, KakaoTalk is the number 1 app in Korea to use for discussion, casual chats, and more.
And, in this instance, it appears to have been the platform used by Seungri and his compatriots to discuss sexual acts of deviance and videography. More specifically, a platform for the K-Pop star and his fellows to send each raunchy photos and videos of each other engaging in sex without the consent of their partners.
SBS FunE released the first portions of the KakaoTalk recordings on February 26, 2019 that would become crucial to the investigation, saying their origin was an anonymous source that turned them over to the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission on February 22. The recordings date back to 2015, and seemed to implicate Seungri with claims that he had directed staff of Club Burning Sun to arrange prostitutes for foreign investors coming to Seoul at another Gangnam club. The police held a press conference on March 4 that essentially stated that the doubted the veracity of the allegations and messages, but they would still follow through with their investigations into the claims.
Claims of veracity would soon be put to rest on March 11, when lawyer Bang Jung-hyun came forth and stated that he was the source of the KakaoTalk messages and that he himself had received them from an anonymous source, who is speculated to be a phone technician from a store that would reveal the second high-profile celebrity to be caught up in this mess of a case: Jung Joon-young.
The involvement of Jung Joon-young, another bad boy of K-Pop who had a similar incident years ago in 2016, regarding the unconsented filming of sex with his then girlfriend, brings to light just how far-reaching this behavior extends. For such a wide range of celebrities of prestige and renown such as the likes of Seungri, Jung Joon-young and other top names, to have been revealed to be embroiled in such a dishonorable and malignant practice is unheard of. And it reveals just how “squeaky clean” the celebrity profile of South Korea truly is. It brings to light the undercurrent societal thinking South Korea has towards half of its population what with sex scandals and illegal prostitution rings popping up throughout the years. And with this reveal, it demonstrates a host of problems that have to be fixed in society today.
Sources:
- https://10mag.com/directory/nightlife/clubs/seoul/burning-sun-gangnam-gu-seoul/
- https://10mag.com/gangnams-club-burning-sun-under-intensifying-scrutiny-in-wake-of-allegations-of-drugging-and-sexual-assault/
- https://m.sedaily.com/NewsView/1VGKMYWYVR#_enliple
- https://web.archive.org/web/20151222093540/http://goboiano.com/original/1551-music-spotlight%253A-big-bang
- https://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/entertainment/bigbang-is-going-on-tour-get-to-know-the-kings-of-k-pop
- https://uk.blastingnews.com/showbiz-tv/2015/04/big-bang-the-kings-of-kpop-are-back-00372741.html
- https://www.villagevoice.com/2015/10/12/k-pop-kings-bigbang-fly-seouls-soul-to-nyc/
- https://www.nst.com.my/lifestyle/groove/2018/07/387723/showbiz-feeling-overshadowed-bigbangs-seungri-makes-mark-business
- http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20160126000475
- https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/people-events/article/2156924/seungri-big-bang-says-he-earns-1-cent-money-g-dragon
- http://pop.heraldcorp.com/view.php?ud=201701041748463612503_1
- https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/k-town/8472297/seungri-debut-tour-proves-power-as-solo-star
- https://www.kakaocorp.com/service/KakaoTalk?lang=en
- http://m.koreatimes.co.kr/pages/article.asp?newsIdx=263889
The Burning Sun Scandal 
Do you think that the lack of public information about Club Burning Sun could show that this is a company that isn’t very morally inclined to follow laws and regulations? I feel that a lack of public information may not necessarily mean that there is no infrastructure internally but instead this is not a priority for the company.
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Apologies for the late reply, but after what I added in my post and the host of other problems this club had with upper management being alleged to be in on the issues presented in this post, I can certainly say that this establishment was not inclined to follow rules and regulations. And with how embroiled Gangnam police corruption is tied to this case, I can assume that the rules and regulations in place that would have prevented this sort of thing weren’t regularly enforced.
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I know he was not so outstanding in Big Bang. ( After all, G-Dragon is too brilliant I think) However, after this scandal coming up, we hear more about him, and we were surprised that he learned foreign languages and have a strong communication skill. I think he is really good at business, but he is not good at ethics. It is funny and ridiculous that I heard even after he was arrested, he kept exercising in jail to keep fit. Well, I respect him for this part. However, I think he really lacks ethical thinking which is the basis of doing business.
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This is actually a common sentiment amongst the older Korean population. They lament that such a young man who is so hard working could make such a horrible and disgraceful mistake. However, while it is true that Seungri is young and he was probably misguided and lacking in ethical guidance, it is a common opinion in Korea right now that he should still be punished to the fullest extent of the law to truly set in the mistakes he made in this scandal.
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I think all of this was an accident waiting to happen. Power hungry celebrities that open a nightclub, get too cocky and ignorant, are basically walking into a scene of allegations. They are all very charismatic, and that is how their act has gone on for so long. These habits/way of life didn’t pop out of thin air.
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It’s actually super funny that you should mention that! Seungri, as you should know if I explained it well enough, is the youngest member of Big Bang, the super popular K-Pop band he is associated with. And throughout the previous years, there have been clear examples of concern from the older members. Korea is a highly tight-knit society where younger people are expected to show respect to elders and for the elders to look after their younger fellows. Thus, the older members of Big Bang often said to the press that they did not like the crowd Seungri began to hang around. They said it many times and it is actually common to go on YouTube to see the various examples of this being the case. I highly recommend you do that actually because the signs are all there.
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The writing style of the blog is exceedingly professional and well written, compelling to read, and efficiently uses image placements to punctuate points made in the text. Going deep into the character of Seungri provided the right amount of context for me to understand his place in the story and importance in bringing this to a larger stage and accelerating the timeline of SMPA’s response.
Honestly, I’m just glad that people like this are foolish enough to use online platforms to discuss and share information about those things. The internet is forever and so are chat logs.
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We live in an age where privacy is a figment of the imagination. A lot of things that we believe to be private and untraceable are oftentimes proven not to be. I too am glad that this horror was exposed and I can only hope that, going forward, more truths are revealed and that the guilty parties are punished to the fullest extent of the law.
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