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1. Blasting bad language

June 24, 2009

Entertainers remain undaunted and fearless in continuing to spout vulgarities on television, against a flood of viewer complaints and warnings by communications authorities.

The same names appeared at the top of the list for indecency and profanity during a two-week review of late-night entertainment programs on three mainstream television broadcasting stations. The review was conducted by the Korea Communication Standards Commission over a two-week period beginning May 9.

Comedian Kim Ku-ra was once again named the most frequent user of profane, indecent and foul language unsuitable for broadcasting. The songwriter and comedian Yoon Jong-shin also retained his second-place ranking.

As fathers, they should both be ashamed of themselves for using such coarse language on television programs popular with teenagers, no matter what time they are run.

Even more despicable and pitiful are the television stations for ignoring viewer complaints and failing to take disciplinary action against those accused of profanity, choosing instead to encourage and enjoy the showcase of obscenities. The broadcaster that allows the most indecent language is MBC. It is more foul-tongued than any private company, but, ironically, has been one of the most vehement opponents to the government-proposed media-related bills, claiming that changes to the broadcasting law could decrease broadcasters’ ability to serve the public.

The public broadcaster, which filed a complaint about the court decision on its scandalous coverage of mad cow disease, as presented on the news program “PD Diary,” appears to be sailing off in a perilous direction.

Potentially damaging language can be heard on mainstream television networks at any time of the day. An actress on a morning show calmly talked about the positive side effects of marijuana, claiming it causes no harm. On a late-night news discussion program, a defamatory comment against President Lee Myung-bak ran uncensored.

Although the commission issued advisory warnings to three programs carried by MBC and SBS, it should also increase punitive measures for broadcasters and forbid entertainers who use foul language to appear on TV.
Audiences should no longer be brought down by their vulgarity.

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2906483

2. TV Programs Testing Limits in Foul Language

By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter

SBS perhaps could change its name to something that includes ``swearing,'' as it leads a list of major broadcast networks exposed for their increasing use of bad language.

The Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC), the country's watchdog for television, radio and Web content, said a jump in profanity was found on virtually every network in both the terrestrial and cable field.

Viewer complaints have also been rising, it said.

Of the 158 complaints submitted to the commission in March, about 70 percent of them were about programs from national networks. There were 17 complaints regarding language standards, the commission said, up from six complaints in the previous month.

Many of the viewer complaints were arrowed toward ``Cruel Temptations,'' the immensely popular SBS miniseries starring Jang Seo-hee that allegedly set new highs for Korean television entertainment, or new lows, depending on who one asks.

The recently-finished drama, based on the plot of a housewife-turned-vamp seeking revenge on her betraying husband and back-stabbing friend, provided a buffet of distasteful actions such as adultery, kidnapping, slapping, kicking, hair-pulling, and predictably, verbal abuse.

Critics have accused Cruel Temptations for being ``flooded'' in vulgarity, which includes frequent use of degrading language toward women. The commission had issued warnings to its producers in November last year and March this year.

``Viewers found the frequent swearing in Cruel Temptations offensive, with the characters repeatedly shouting `nyun' (bitch) at each other, and there were complaints about vulgarity in the new SBS drama, `The Drum,' too,'' said an official from the commission.

Aside of nationally televised programs, there were also complaints about explicit sex scenes on late-night cable television, the commission said.

Last week, the commission issued a warning to SBS, for its new drama, The Drum, for violence, which included stabbing scenes and a baby thrown into a river, and foul language. MBC, another national network, was also warned for profanity in its movie preview program, ``Start, Video Travel.''

Television networks and regulators are always engaged in a debate over where to draw the lines between expressiveness and profanity, and the boundaries seem blurrier for comedy shows, due to the improvised nature of many of them.

In a separate report last week, the commission announced the results of its content review of the sketch-comedy shows of the three terrestrial channels.

``Laughter Search,'' another SBS program, was deemed as most offensive, as the commission counted 115 cases of abusive language, and sexually suggestive or violent expressions in two episodes that aired on March 27 and April 3. The number was 76 for MBC's ``Gagya'' in two episodes that aired on March 28 and April 4.

KBS's ``Gag Concert,'' one of the country's most popular television shows, had 51 cases of inappropriate language and actions in two episodes that aired on March 29 and April 5, the commission said.

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2009/05/117_44338.html 
 
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