It’s still rape, he said he would give her roles if she slept with him. Plus power abuse.
The age of consent in SK is not 13. It used to be 13 quite a few years ago. It was raised to 16 and then to 20 recently citing the previous age of consent did not protect minors (which is obviously true).
Many countries with low age of consent have thresholds (a 13 year old and someone 13-15 is legal but a 13 year old and a 16 year old is illegal, etc.). I'm not sure if SK has something like this in place too, but considering Lee was found guilty of soliciting prostitution of a minor, I would still consider this as statutory rape though yes, he may not have been convicted.
There are also countries that have something called "rape by deception" where the victim would not have had sex if they weren't deceived (say you don't disclose STI, you claim to be infertile/impotent - or, in Lee's case, you say you will help someone's acting career but have no intent to do so).
Ethically, there is no reason to defend the fact this man. Not only that but SK's legal system has changed BECAUSE of cases like this.
It’s still rape, he said he would give her roles if she slept with him. Plus power abuse.
As you've asked of others, you should educate yourself. A minor can't LEGALLY consent to sex with an adult so, yes, an adult sleeping with a minor is rape. Laws like this are in place because of how easy it is for an adult to manipulate a minor and the neurological differences between an adult and a minor.
Honestly I'm not particularly fond of the idea of an 18 year old with a 28 year old but this is good so far, and I appreciate that it's relatively tasteful in terms of Akira's reluctance. I also like the parallel between Akira + his teacher's relationship Akira + Shin's relationship, and why the latter is obviously more acceptable.
That being said, I do also want to point out to those who are saying people who don't like an age gap where someone is <18 and the other >25 are finding an issue where there is none... that neurologically, there is a big, big difference between an 18 and a 28 year old. This is a simple matter of truth. And in many parts of the world, it is illegal for someone who is <18 to be with someone who is >18. Hell, even Minato refers to Shin as a "kid"/youth.
In fiction, it doesn't bother me that much but in real life, in most cases, I think someone who is nearly 30 being drawn to someone who is 18 is odd. And also that it is not incredibly common because you change a lot in this period of life; the difference between an 18 and 28 year old is truly much bigger than that of a 38 and 48 year old.
Yess I would respect/like him more if he just treated young woo like everybody else and doesn’t like her for…
That's a good point! I guess there is still is a bit of underlying questioning, from Min Woo, as to how someone with autism is his competition and has bested him. And I think he is harbouring resentment for Woo Young specifically because of that - because even though he also views Soo Yeon as competition, he isn't so aggressive about it.
I guess it's a combination of him viewing Woo Young as the strongest competition, given thus far she has more "wins" (in terms of coming up with legal strategies, winning over clients, etc.) than him - as well as that he, perhaps subconsciously, and albeit wrongfully, still views her as someone who SHOULD be inferior to him.
Yess I would respect/like him more if he just treated young woo like everybody else and doesn’t like her for…
I think there is a fundamental misunderstanding around "special treatment", though. To put it simply, you can't not hire someone for an office job because they're in a wheelchair - but you will need to have an accessible office. You can call needing specific infrastructure "special treatment" because everyone else can take the stairs but it isn't, it's equitable treatment.
It's the same with students at school; those with ADHD or autism or similar are often allowed to use fidget toys (this has been true for many decades, though fidget toys have only recently become "mainstream"). While it is treatment that is not the norm, it is to ensure these students can access the same outcomes as easily as other students (i.e. other students find it easy to focus whereas some may need an outlet such as a fidget spinner to achieve that same level of focus).
That being said, I do agree that sometimes the others help Young Woo in times and with things that they do not need to (not necessarily opening bottles, as things like that aren't work-related at all; it's just Soo Yeon being helpful). That is why, although Min Woo isn't necessarily a positive character, I actually believe he treats Young Woo more naturally than some others who automatically default to doing things for her. Or who don't view her as competition. As Min Woo said, Young Woo IS STRONG! But he should still understand that equitable treatment is not discrimination against him, nor special treatment in favour of Young Woo.
Yess I would respect/like him more if he just treated young woo like everybody else and doesn’t like her for…
I actually kind of feel that he doesn't hone in on her autism. He did (there was a short arc in the first few episodes) but now it comes across more that he treats her poorly because he views her as competition. I think this is intentional and has been done to almost foreshadow that he will be redeemed by the end of the series
I really like how Min Woo's character is written and portrayed. He is one of the few who takes Young Woo very, very seriously and consistently acknowledges her ability, even if it is by viewing her as a threat to his own position. I appreciate that ultimately that is what drives his actions, though I don't agree with them, and though I wish he would understand that Young Woo not getting offered a position through the correct hiring process was more discriminatory than her attaining one due to nepotism.
I hope he secures some main roles in the near future! His portrayal of Min Woo in EAW is perfect. The character absolutely sucks, not in that it is badly written nor that it is poorly acted, but exactly the opposite; the character is so awful because it's written realistically and the acting is spot on. His presence is really strong.
It’s indeed sad that there’s a lot of argument happening on this page. I feel awful about it too and I’ll…
i totally understand and respect that. frankly, it's more that some of the newer commenters are here to talk about how groups that aren't involved on this page are acting poorly. but i don't understand why they are here to talk about that when none of the groups they are talking about are here? and none of the negative things that have been said by those groups have been posted here. frankly sometimes translation groups that aren't the best are the only ones that have translated certain things, so of course in order to get information, you avoid the things that are subjective and in poor taste (like where some fans are saying rude things about other actors) to grab the translations of factual information.
honestly kind of sad at what this comment section has become... maybe there should be a thread in forums for updates. i don't know, i just feel like it's just such a shame to have so much negativity and fighting on ZZH's page rather than support, discussing his acting, etc.
Same, this show lost all its sparkle but somehow I still like it… actually this series had the potential to…
Agreed! I'm totally fine with the inclusion of LGBT characters without romance, or LGBT characters with strong friendships rather than romance as a focal point, but including a bisexual character and then teetering on the edge of romance very often reads as queerbaiting unless there is actual intention behind it beyond those involved in the production being too afraid to explore it further.
As you said, this show had potential. It would have been much better if they honed in on one of the themes and made it more well-rounded (again, could have been the romance, mystery, etc.). I think the way to describe this drama may be "Jack of all trades, master of none" haha ^^
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Many countries with low age of consent have thresholds (a 13 year old and someone 13-15 is legal but a 13 year old and a 16 year old is illegal, etc.). I'm not sure if SK has something like this in place too, but considering Lee was found guilty of soliciting prostitution of a minor, I would still consider this as statutory rape though yes, he may not have been convicted.
There are also countries that have something called "rape by deception" where the victim would not have had sex if they weren't deceived (say you don't disclose STI, you claim to be infertile/impotent - or, in Lee's case, you say you will help someone's acting career but have no intent to do so).
Ethically, there is no reason to defend the fact this man. Not only that but SK's legal system has changed BECAUSE of cases like this.
Honestly I'm not particularly fond of the idea of an 18 year old with a 28 year old but this is good so far, and I appreciate that it's relatively tasteful in terms of Akira's reluctance. I also like the parallel between Akira + his teacher's relationship Akira + Shin's relationship, and why the latter is obviously more acceptable.
That being said, I do also want to point out to those who are saying people who don't like an age gap where someone is <18 and the other >25 are finding an issue where there is none... that neurologically, there is a big, big difference between an 18 and a 28 year old. This is a simple matter of truth. And in many parts of the world, it is illegal for someone who is <18 to be with someone who is >18. Hell, even Minato refers to Shin as a "kid"/youth.
In fiction, it doesn't bother me that much but in real life, in most cases, I think someone who is nearly 30 being drawn to someone who is 18 is odd. And also that it is not incredibly common because you change a lot in this period of life; the difference between an 18 and 28 year old is truly much bigger than that of a 38 and 48 year old.
I guess it's a combination of him viewing Woo Young as the strongest competition, given thus far she has more "wins" (in terms of coming up with legal strategies, winning over clients, etc.) than him - as well as that he, perhaps subconsciously, and albeit wrongfully, still views her as someone who SHOULD be inferior to him.
It's the same with students at school; those with ADHD or autism or similar are often allowed to use fidget toys (this has been true for many decades, though fidget toys have only recently become "mainstream"). While it is treatment that is not the norm, it is to ensure these students can access the same outcomes as easily as other students (i.e. other students find it easy to focus whereas some may need an outlet such as a fidget spinner to achieve that same level of focus).
That being said, I do agree that sometimes the others help Young Woo in times and with things that they do not need to (not necessarily opening bottles, as things like that aren't work-related at all; it's just Soo Yeon being helpful). That is why, although Min Woo isn't necessarily a positive character, I actually believe he treats Young Woo more naturally than some others who automatically default to doing things for her. Or who don't view her as competition. As Min Woo said, Young Woo IS STRONG! But he should still understand that equitable treatment is not discrimination against him, nor special treatment in favour of Young Woo.
As you said, this show had potential. It would have been much better if they honed in on one of the themes and made it more well-rounded (again, could have been the romance, mystery, etc.). I think the way to describe this drama may be "Jack of all trades, master of none" haha ^^