Broadcaster Lee Sang-min accepts the grand prize on the 2025 SBS Leisure Awards. Screenshot from the published
Cash that spills from the mouths of celebrities is shortly placed on the chopping block, as shows of luxurious — from villas value tens of billions of gained to supercars priced within the billions — are uncovered in actual time by way of social media and YouTube, drawing fixed scrutiny to their each transfer.
Whereas it could be tough — and arguably unreasonable — to take challenge with the sheer scale of celebrities’ earnings themselves, the discomfort usually lies elsewhere. It’s the approach celebrities discuss cash, and the attitudes embedded in these remarks, that repeatedly draw criticism and stir public resentment.
A living proof is Lee Sang-min, a broadcaster who gained the grand prize on the 2025 SBS Leisure Awards final month. In his acceptance speech, Lee mirrored on the previous whereas expressing gratitude, saying, “I by no means thought I’d find yourself paying off an enormous debt that felt not possible to flee by way of my work in broadcasting and by residing diligently.”
Lee has stated on a number of events that he was left with about 6.9 billion gained ($5.2 million) in debt after a failed enterprise enterprise. When footage later aired displaying him repaying the debt, some viewers applauded the hassle, whereas others expressed discomfort.
There’s little doubt that substantial effort passed off off-camera. But for viewers who encountered Lee primarily by way of tv, that course of remained largely invisible. Backlash was nearly inevitable, as critics argued that poverty — a topic that ought to by no means be handled evenly — had been packaged as tv content material.
Lee just isn’t alone on this. In an period the place frankness is met with sympathy, many celebrities brazenly disclose their earnings. Public reactions to such disclosures, nevertheless, usually differ.
Behind the sharp responses lies a broader social environment. Extended financial stagnation, hovering costs, excessive rates of interest, and housing insecurity have left public sentiment more and more strained and irritable. A star talking of success tales or earnings could provoke emotions of deprivation or frustration, notably at a time when such a stage of success feels unattainable for a lot of. In consequence, even an offhand comment could also be met not with empathy however with discomfort.
In the end, it comes right down to how the story is informed. A story of accomplishment is extra prone to be met with empathy when framed alongside the time invested, setbacks endured and obligations borne. Celebrities who made their efforts seen had been usually acquired otherwise, as their speak of cash and success was seen not as boasting, however as an consequence commensurate with that effort.
Celebrities exert affect over the general public, and their phrases usually broaden into broader social messages. We now reside in an period when celebrities not stand behind a veil of mystique, however as an alternative are anticipated to speak brazenly and present empathy. Towards this backdrop, celebrities’ discussions of earnings can really feel notably uncomfortable — not due to the quantities concerned, however as a result of such remarks immediate audiences to mirror on their very own lives and, at occasions, come throughout as an implicit reproach.
Discuss that feels indifferent from public actuality invitations comparability and a way of deprivation. What is required just isn’t humility or concealment, however an consciousness of the load phrases carry.
This text from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Occasions, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Occasions.
