South Korean actor's death at 24 sparks debate on social media and internet culture
SEOUL, South Korea, Feb 18, (AP): South Korean actor Kim Sae-ron's death this week has triggered an outpouring of grief and calls for changes to the way the country's celebrities are treated in the public arena and on social media, which critics say can foster a culture of harassment.
The 24-year-old, who began her career as a child actor and earned acclaim for her roles in several domestic films, including the 2010 crime noir "The Man from Nowhere,' was found dead by a friend at her home in the country's capital, Seoul, on Sunday. The National Police Agency has said that officers are not suspecting foul play and that Kim left no note.
Once among the brightest stars on South Korea's vibrant movie and television scene, Kim struggled to find work after a 2022 drunk driving incident, for which she was later fined in court.
Online posts in South Korea are notoriously harsh toward celebrities who make missteps, especially women, and Kim faced constant negative coverage from news organizations that capitalized on public sentiment.
Newspapers and websites criticized her whenever she was seen partying with friends, or when she complained about her lack of work and nasty comments on social media. She was even criticized for smiling while filming an independent movie last year.
Following Kim's death, several of the country's major newspapers on Tuesday published editorials and opinion pieces lambasting the toxic online comments about the actor. Some invoked the 2019 deaths of K-Pop singers Seol-li and Goo Hara and the 2023 death of "Squid Games' actor Lee Sun-kyun while calling for a change in the "harsh, zero-tolerance' culture toward celebrities.
The Hankook Ilbo newspaper said the country's media outlets were part of the problem, lamenting that some outlets continued to exploit Kim for clicks even after her death, using provocative headlines that highlighted her past struggles.
The watchdog Citizens' Coalition for Democratic Media on Tuesday criticized news organizations for blaming social media without considering their own "sensational and provocative reporting."
Born in 2000, Kim began her acting career at age 9, with the 2009 film "A Brand New Life,' portraying a girl's struggles to adjust to a new life after being left at an orphanage by her father. She rose to stardom with "The Man from Nowhere,' which was one of the biggest hits in the South Korean movie scene that year and won her a domestic acting award.
She starred in various movies and TV shows before the 2022 drunk driving incident.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab Times
16 hours ago
- Arab Times
Chinese hackers and user lapses turn smartphones into a 'mobile security crisis'
WASHINGTON, June 9, (AP): Cybersecurity investigators noticed a highly unusual software crash - it was affecting a small number of smartphones belonging to people who worked in government, politics, tech and journalism. The crashes, which began late last year and carried into 2025, were the tipoff to a sophisticated cyberattack that may have allowed hackers to infiltrate a phone without a single click from the user. The attackers left no clues about their identities, but investigators at the cybersecurity firm iVerify noticed that the victims all had something in common: They worked in fields of interest to China's government and had been targeted by Chinese hackers in the past. Foreign hackers have increasingly identified smartphones, other mobile devices and the apps they use as a weak link in U.S. cyberdefenses. Groups linked to China's military and intelligence service have targeted the smartphones of prominent Americans and burrowed deep into telecommunication networks, according to national security and tech experts. It shows how vulnerable mobile devices and apps are and the risk that security failures could expose sensitive information or leave American interests open to cyberattack, those experts say. "The world is in a mobile security crisis right now,' said Rocky Cole, a former cybersecurity expert at the National Security Agency and Google and now chief operations officer at iVerify. "No one is watching the phones.' U.S. authorities warned in December of a sprawling Chinese hacking campaign designed to gain access to the texts and phone conversations of an unknown number of Americans. "They were able to listen in on phone calls in real time and able to read text messages,' said Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois. He is a member of the House Intelligence Committee and the senior Democrat on the Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, created to study the geopolitical threat from China. Chinese hackers also sought access to phones used by Donald Trump and running mate JD Vance during the 2024 campaign. The Chinese government has denied allegations of cyberespionage, and accused the U.S. of mounting its own cyberoperations. It says America cites national security as an excuse to issue sanctions against Chinese organizations and keep Chinese technology companies from the global market. "The U.S. has long been using all kinds of despicable methods to steal other countries' secrets,' Lin Jian, a spokesman for China's foreign ministry, said at a recent press conference in response to questions about a CIA push to recruit Chinese informants. U.S. intelligence officials have said China poses a significant, persistent threat to U.S. economic and political interests, and it has harnessed the tools of digital conflict: online propaganda and disinformation, artificial intelligence, and cyber surveillance and espionage designed to deliver a significant advantage in any military conflict. Mobile networks are a top concern. The U.S. and many of its closest allies have banned Chinese telecom companies from their networks. Other countries, including Germany, are phasing out Chinese involvement because of security concerns. But Chinese tech firms remain a big part of the systems in many nations, giving state-controlled companies a global footprint they could exploit for cyberattacks, experts say. Chinese telecom firms still maintain some routing and cloud storage systems in the U.S. - a growing concern to lawmakers. "The American people deserve to know if Beijing is quietly using state-owned firms to infiltrate our critical infrastructure,' U.S. Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., and chairman of the China committee, which in April issued subpoenas to Chinese telecom companies seeking information about their U.S. operations. Mobile devices can buy stocks, launch drones, and run power plants. Their proliferation has often outpaced their security. The phones of top government officials are especially valuable, containing sensitive government information, passwords, and an insider's glimpse into policy discussions and decision-making. The White House said last week that someone impersonating Susie Wiles, Trump's chief of staff, reached out to governors, senators, and business leaders with texts and phone calls. It's unclear how the person obtained Wiles' connections, but they apparently gained access to the contacts in her personal cellphone, The Wall Street Journal reported. The messages and calls were not coming from Wiles' number, the newspaper reported. While most smartphones and tablets come with robust security, apps and connected devices often lack these protections or the regular software updates needed to stay ahead of new threats. That makes every fitness tracker, baby monitor or smart appliance another potential foothold for hackers looking to penetrate networks, retrieve information or infect systems with malware. Federal officials launched a program this year creating a "cyber trust mark' for connected devices that meet federal security standards. But consumers and officials shouldn't lower their guard, said Snehal Antani, former chief technology officer for the Pentagon's Joint Special Operations Command. "They're finding backdoors in Barbie dolls,' said Antani, now CEO of a cybersecurity firm, referring to concerns from researchers who successfully hacked the microphone of a digitally connected version of the toy. It doesn't matter how secure a mobile device is if the user doesn't follow basic security precautions, especially if their device contains classified or sensitive information, experts say. Mike Waltz, who departed as Trump's national security adviser, inadvertently added The Atlantic's editor-in-chief to a Signal chat used to discuss military plans with other top officials. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth had an internet connection that bypassed the Pentagon's security protocols set up in his office so he could use the Signal messaging app on a personal computer, the AP has reported. Hegseth has rejected assertions that he shared classified information on Signal, a popular encrypted messaging app not approved for the use of communicating classified information. China and other nations will try to take advantage of such lapses, and national security officials must take steps to prevent them from recurring, said Michael Williams, a national security expert at Syracuse University. "They all have access to a variety of secure communications platforms,' Williams said. "We just can't share things willy-nilly.'
Arab Times
19 hours ago
- Arab Times
Film festival showcases what AI can do on the big screen
NEW YORK, June 9, (AP): Artificial intelligence's use in movie making is exploding. And a young film festival, now in its junior year, is showcasing what this technology can do on screen today. The annual AI Film Festival organized by Runway, a company that specializes in AI-generated video, kicked off in New York Thursday night with ten short films from around the world making their debut on the big screen. "Three years ago, this was such a crazy idea,' Runway CEO Cristóbal Valenzuela told the crowd. "Today, millions of people are making billions of videos using tools we only dreamed of.' The film festival itself has grown significantly since its 2023 debut. About 300 people submitted films when it first began, Valenzuela said, compared to about 6,000 submissions received this year. The one and half-hour lineup stretched across a range of creative styles and ambitious themes - with Jacob Adler's " Total Pixel Space " taking home the festival's top prize. The 9-minute and 28-second film questions how many possible images - real or not - exist in the digital space, and uses math to calculate a colossal number. A stunning series of images, ranging from the familiar life moments to those that completely bend reality, gives viewers a glimpse of what's out there. Meanwhile, Andrew Salter's "Jailbird," which snagged second place, chronicles a chicken's journey - from the bird's perspective - to a human prison in the United Kingdom to take part in a joint-rehabilitation program. And "One,' a futuristic story by Ricardo Villavicencio and Edward Saatchi about interplanetary travel followed in third place. The 10 films shown were finalists selected from thousands submitted to Runway's AI Film Festival this year. The shorts will also be shown at screenings held in Los Angeles and Paris next week. How AI is used and executed is a factor judges evaluate when determining festival winners. But not every film entered was made entirely using AI. While submission criteria requires each movie include the use of AI-generated video, there's no set threshold, meaning some films can take a more "mixed media' approach - such as combining live shots of actors or real-life images and sounds with AI-generated elements. "We're trying to encourage people to explore and experiment with it,' Valenzuela said in an interview prior to Thursday's screening. Creating a coherent film using generative AI is no easy feat. It can take a long list of directions and numerous, detailed prompts to get even a short scene to make sense and look consistent. Still, the scope of what this kind of technology can do has grown significantly since Runway's first AI Film Festival in 2023 - and Valenzuela says that's reflected in today's submissions. While there are still limits, AI-generated video is becoming more and more life-like and realistic. Runway encourages the use of its own AI tools for films entered into its festival, but creators are also allowed to turn to other resources and tools as they put together the films - and across the industry, tools that use AI to create videos spanning from text, image and/or audio prompts have rapidly improved over recent years, while becoming increasingly available. "The way (this technology) has lived within film and media culture, and pop culture, has really accelerated,' said Joshua Glick, an associate professor of film and electronic arts at Bard College. He adds that Runway's film fest, which is among a handful of showcases aimed at spotlighting AI's creative capabilities, arrives as companies in this space are searching for heightened "legitimacy and recognition' for the tools they are creating - with aims to cement partnerships in Hollywood as a result. AI's presence in Hollywood is already far-reaching, and perhaps more expansive than many moviegoers realize. Beyond "headline-grabbing' (and at times controversial) applications that big-budget films have done to "de-age' actors or create eye-catching stunts, Glick notes, this technology is often incorporated in an array of post-production editing, digital touch-ups and additional behind-the-scenes work like sorting footage. Industry executives repeatedly point to how AI can improve efficiency in the movie making process - allowing creatives to perform a task that once took hours, for example, in a matter of minutes - and foster further innovation. Still, AI's rapid growth and adoption has also heightened anxieties around the burgeoning technology - notably its implications for workers. The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees - which represents behind-the-scenes entertainment workers in the U.S. and Canada - has "long embraced new technologies that enhance storytelling,' Vanessa Holtgrewe, IATSE's international vice president, said in an emailed statement. "But we've also been clear: AI must not be used to undermine workers' rights or livelihoods.' IATSE and other unions have continued to meet with major studios and establish provisions in efforts to provide guardrails around the use of AI. The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists has also been vocal about AI protections for its members, a key sticking point in recent labor actions. For Runway's AI Film Festival, Valenzuela hopes screening films that incorporate AI-generated video can showcase what's possible - and how he says this technology can help, not hurt, creatives in the work they do today. "It's natural to fear change ... (But) it's important to understand what you can do with it," Valenzuela said. Even filmmaking, he adds, was born "because of scientific breakthroughs that at the time were very uncomfortable for many people."
Arab Times
21 hours ago
- Arab Times
Tony Awards laud 'Maybe Happy Ending' and 'Purpose'
NEW YORK, June 9, (AP): "Maybe Happy Ending,' a rom-com about androids that crackles with humanity, had a definite happy ending at Sunday's Tony Awards. It won best new musical on a night when Kara Young made history as the first Black person to win two Tonys consecutively for "Purpose,' which also won best new play. Starring Darren Criss and Helen J. Shen, "Maybe Happy Ending' charts the relationship between two decommissioned robots, becoming a commentary on human themes and the passage of time. It won a leading six Tonys. With "Purpose,' a drawing-room drama about an accomplished Black family exposing hypocrisy and pressures during a snowed-in gathering, playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins caps a remarkable year: In addition to winning back-to-back Tonys - his "Appropriate' won best play revival last year - he earned the Pulitzer Prize for "Purpose.' (That win came the day of the Met Gala, where he served on the host committee.) Jacobs-Jenkins is the first Black playwright to win the category since August Wilson for "Fences' in 1987. He urged viewers to support regional theaters; "Purpose' was nurtured in Chicago. "Theater is a sacred space that we have to honor and treasure, and it makes us united,' Young said in her own acceptance speech. "Sunset Blvd.,' with Nicole Scherzinger as a fallen screen idol desperate to reclaim her fame, won best musical revival, handing composer Andrew Lloyd Webber his first competitive Tony since 1995 - when the original show won. The current version is a stripped-down, minimalist production. Scherzinger also won for best lead actress in a musical, muscling aside a considerable challenge from Audra McDonald in a remarkable career pivot for the former lead singer of pop group Pussycat Dolls and TV talent show judge. "Growing up, I always felt like I didn't belong, but you all have made me feel like I belong and I have come home at last,' she said. "So if there's anyone out there who feels like they don't belong, or your time hasn't come, don't give up. Just keep on giving and giving because the world needs your love and your light now more than ever.' Criss, who has starred in everything from "Glee' to "The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story,' won his first Tony for "Maybe Happy Ending,' which he also co-produced. He said he shared it with Shen, who was not nominated. Sarah Snook won leading actress in a play for her tireless work in "The Picture of Dorian Gray,' where she plays all 26 roles. "I don't feel alone any night that I do this show,' Snook said, dismissing the idea of it as a one-woman show. "There are so many people onstage making it work and behind the stage making it work.' Downtown cabaret star Cole Escola won best actor in a play for their deranged, repressed and over-the-top ahistorical version of Mary Todd Lincoln in "Oh Mary!,' beating such Hollywood stars as George Clooney and Daniel Dae Kim. Sam Pinkleton won best director for "Oh, Mary!' and thanked Escola, saying they taught him, "Do what you love, not what you think people want to see.' Francis Jue won best featured actor in a play for the revival of "Yellow Face.' He said he was gifted his tuxedo from another Asian actor who wanted him to wear it to the Tonys. "I'm only here because of the encouragement and inspiration of generations of wonderful deserving Asian artists who came before me,' he said. Jak Malone won best featured actor in a musical for the British import "Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical,' playing a woman every performance. He hoped his win could be powerful advocacy for trans rights. "Eureka Day,' Jonathan Spector's social satire about well-meaning liberals debating a school's vaccine policy, won best play revival. The original cast of "Hamilton,' including creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, did a victory lap dressed in black to mark the show's 10th anniversary on Broadway, with a medley including "My Shot,' "The Schuyler Sisters,' "History Has Its Eyes on You' and "The Room Where It Happens.' First-time host Cynthia Erivo kicked off the show from her Radio City Music Hall dressing room, unsure of her opening number. As she made her way through the backstage warren, she ran into various people offering advice until she reached Oprah Winfrey, who advised, "The only thing you need to do is just be yourself.' Erivo then appeared at the stage in a red, spangly gown with white accents, hip cocked, as she launched into the slow-burning original "Sometimes All You Need Is a Song,' written by Marc Shaiman, Scott Wittman, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. Initially alone with a pianist, Erivo's soaring voice was soon joined by members of the Broadway Inspirational Voices choir, all dressed in white, making her look like a powerful strawberry in a bowl of whipped cream. In her opening comments, she singled out first-time nominees Escola, Louis McCartney, Sadie Sink, and "an up-and-comer that I think you're going to really be hearing quite a bit about - George Clooney.' She noted that the 2024-2025 season took in $1.9 billion, making it the highest-grossing ever and signaling Broadway has finally emerged from the COVID-19 blues. "Broadway is officially back,' Erivo said. "Provided we don't run out of cast members from 'Succession,'' a nod to appearances this season by former co-stars Snook and Kieran Culkin and last season by Jeremy Strong. She and Sara Bareilles dueted for a moving in memoriam, singing "The Sun Will Come Out' from "Annie,' and honoring its composer Charles Strouse as well as George Wendt, Richard Chamberlain, Athol Fugard, Joan Plowright, Quincy Jones, Linda Lavin, James Earl Jones and Gavin Creel. Erivo was an amiable host, at one point appearing in the second mezzanine to comment that everyone likes the view from theater balconies - except perhaps Abraham Lincoln. She had fun with Winfrey later on, telling her to check under her chair, where she found a gift bag with a toy automobile. "You get a car!' Erivo cracked. The best book and best score awards went to "Maybe Happy Ending,' with lyrics written by Hue Park and music composed by Will Aronson. Its director, Michael Arden, won - "Happy Pride!' he said - and it also picked up best scenic design. Justin Peck and Patricia Delgado won for choreographing "Buena Vista Social Club' and Peck noted a song from the renowned original album was played at their wedding. The musical takes its inspiration from Wim Wenders' 1999 Oscar-nominated documentary on the making of the Cuban album. It won four Tonys. Best costumes in a play went to Marg Hornwell for "The Picture of Dorian Gray,' while "Death Becomes Her' won the musical counterpart for Paul Tazewell months after he became the first Black man to win an Oscar for designing costumes. Harvey Fierstein, the four-time Tony winner behind "Torch Song Trilogy' and "Kinky Boots,' was honored with a lifetime achievement Tony and became emotional during his speech. "There is nothing quite like bathing in the applause of a curtain call, but when I bow, I bow to the audience, with gratitude, knowing that without them I might as well be lip-syncing showtunes in my bedroom mirror," he said. "And so I dedicate this award to the people in the dark.'
