[SPECIAL REPORT] Revealing dark side of Korea's entertainment industry, foreign actors seek protection of artists' rights

Actor Kenneth Fibbe speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at a studio in Los Angeles, Nov. 16. Korea Times photo by Kim Kang-min

This is the fourth and last piece in a four-part series of stories on 'artist and entertainer' visa holders in Korea supported by the Korea Press Foundation. This interactive digital journalism project features articles, photography and short documentary films that expose the systematic loopholes in Korea's E-6 visa management practices that are easily used to exploit foreign artists who come to the country with hopes to be part of the nation's arts and entertainment scene.

'Even if I get to the top, I'd never be protected or respected'

By Dong Sun-hwa

LOS ANGELES, DENVER ― Since he arrived in Seoul in 2011, Kentucky-born actor Kenneth Fibbe had actively pursued his acting career with an E-6-1 visa ― a special permit for foreigners seeking to engage in profitable activities in the field of music, acting and the arts, among others. Fibbe appeared in a plethora of hit series like "Descendants of the Sun" (2016), starring A-list actors Song Joong-ki and Song Hye-kyo, and also on the music video of K-pop diva, HyunA. It looked as if he was living a life that many people would envy.

After a few years, however, he left Korea and returned to his home country. For Fibbe, life in Korea was no longer tolerable. He felt like he would never be protected or respected by anyone, even if he persevered against all odds and rose to the top.

"My ego was inflated when I was in Korea," Fibbe told The Korea Times during a recent interview at a studio in Los Angeles, California. "Let's be honest. Most foreigners in the Korean entertainment industry have no background in acting. If they had it, they would be in Los Angeles, where it is very hard to become an actor. But who does not want to be on TV? Who does not want to say I was part of the No.1 Korean drama like, 'The Descendants of the Sun'?"

Being an English-speaking man from the U.S., it was relatively easier for Fibbe to set foot into the Korean entertainment scene, where there was almost no quality control in the casting of foreign actors. After making an appearance in several works, Fibbe naturally got to hang out with people of "high social status."

"I felt like my social status went up as well," he recalled. "But I eventually got to the point where I felt that it was not worth it anymore."

In fact, just like other foreign entertainers based in Seoul, Fibbe was also underpaid and had to endure tough working conditions. But what concerned him even more was the frequent exploitation of children and the absence of humanity he witnessed on set.

"Once, I was supposed to dance and get sexual with a 14 year-old Ukrainian girl for a commercial," Fibbe said. "It was very awkward for me, but to its producers, that was a lot of money ... When an agency casts a foreign kid in Korea, they would just go to Itaewon in Seoul where the U.S. military base is located, and pass out their business cards to the mothers of the children who look cute. Then, these moms would put their kids on set."

Actor Kenneth Fibbe during an interview with The Korea Times at a studio in Los Angeles, Nov. 16 / Korea Times photo by Kim Kang-min

But filming a commercial often takes a lengthy period of time ― sometimes up to 20 hours ― and this makes young kids impatient.

"There was one commercial that I did on a freezing cold day in March," he said. "A three-year-old boy, who was never on set before, had to promote a mosquito repellant with me and other actors. He had been up all day. So, at the end of the filming, he did not stop crying, saying he just wanted to go home and sleep. But people on set did not let him go. They said all of us should stay here until the filming is finished and that they did not have a budget for another day. His mom told the agency that her son could not do this anymore, but they just told her to stay. And this happened all the time. It is exploitation of child labor, but it is not getting any better."

Some people even came close to death due to the lack of proper safety management, Fibbe added. When he was shooting another commercial, two men accidentally got trapped in a car that became filled with carbon monoxide and fell unconscious. Fibbe tried to do CPR and save them, until an official from his agency held him back.

"He said I should not touch them because I was going to get the company in trouble," Fibbe said. "I couldn't believe this was a real thing. I can't save someone's life because the agent is scared of his client?"

Fortunately, both men survived. But for Fibbe, the fact that people's lives were treated as less important than the job itself was just beyond comprehension.

"It was ridiculous, but this happened all the time," he stressed.

Actor Garrison Michael Farquharson-Keener poses after an interview with The Korea Times at a studio in Los Angeles, Nov. 16. Korea Times photo by Kim Kang-min

In the case of Garrison Michael Farquharson-Keener, a British-American actor/model who has been working in Korea for about seven years, the only thing he could do when he faced absurdity was to accept it.

Actor Garrison Michael Farquharson-Keener speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at a studio in Los Angeles, Nov. 16. Korea Times photo by Kim Kang-min

"There was a lot of things with delayed payments," Farquharson-Keener, who was featured in tvN's hit series, "Twenty-Five Twenty-One" (2022), told The Korea Times. "I've gotten payment up to six months after the job was done. They just say it's being delayed. The agencies just pay you whenever they want to and that was the expected norm. You just get used to it."

According to him, these agents control all the shoots in Korea, as they are the ones who sponsor the E-6-1 visas of foreign performers.

"So you just have to accept the situation even if they are rude or if they abuse the visa system," he said. "Otherwise, you will not be able to do any jobs and there is really no other way around it. You really cannot do anything because agencies will blacklist you. It is a very common thing, but nobody in Korea regulates them."

Actress Kelly Frances speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at her home in Denver, Nov. 15. Korea Times photo by Kim Kang-min

As a result, when a foreign entertainer becomes entangled in a problem or a dispute, one of the few platforms they can turn to is Expat Entertainers Korea (E.E. R.O.K.) ― a closed group dedicated to educating foreign artists new to the industry, sharing information and protecting their rights. Actress Kelly Frances, a Canadian citizen, founded it approximately nine years ago in a bid to help foreigners share their experiences, support each other and avoid possible dangers.

"But we have to be careful," Frances, who currently lives in Denver after forging her career in Korea for more than a decade, said during an interview. "Technically, foreigners can get into trouble and lose their visas if they get involved in a political action. We are allowed to advocate, but we are not allowed to participate in any political activity."

According to Korean laws, foreign artists and entertainers are prohibited from forming or joining a labor union, as this is deemed a "political activity" that can threaten national security.

"So I got a lot of threats," Frances revealed. "Those who threaten me are often very polite and they try to make friends with me at first. And then they say they want me to apologize publicly immediately. One agency sent me threats five to six times, and I consider them an excellent example of a bully. They threaten me with a lawsuit or the police. Even their family members sent me the threats via Instagram or Facebook. It seems they cannot tolerate that I have a negative opinion of them, because they feel concerned about the influence I might have."

Actress Kelly Frances prepares for an audition at her home in Denver, Nov. 15. Korea Times photo by Kim Kang-min

Elephant in the room

Foreign artists and entertainers in Korea also do not have access to many basic services provided by the Korean Artists Welfare Foundation, a public institution that gives social and financial support to artists.

But in the U.S., where artistically gifted people from across the globe come together, foreign entertainers are treated in an utterly different manner, according to Fibbe, Farquharson-Keener and Frances.

First and foremost, the O1B visa in the U.S. ― the nonimmigrant artist visa that can be compared to Korea's E-6 ― is far more challenging to obtain as people have to prove through documentation that they are professional artists with actual careers. This means that a sponsor cannot randomly bring anyone with no artistic background to the country and exploit them for his or her own end.

Foreign entertainers can become members of a labor union, too.

"Even a foreigner can join the unions like Screen Actors Guild ― American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) in the U.S., which can provide incredible protection," Frances said.

SAG-AFTRA is a labor union representing some 160,000 actors, singers, voice actors and fashion models, which was established in 2012 following the merger of SAG and AFTRA. It is a member of the largest federation of unions in the U.S. ― the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) ― that represents over 12 million active and retired workers.

"If I were a member of SAG-AFTRA, I could even insist upon having an intimacy coordinator or a mental health coordinator," Frances explained. "That is something I never knew existed when I was in Korea."

Farquharson-Keener elaborated on the financial benefit that a SAG-AFTRA member can receive.

"Let's say you go on a movie or a drama shoot," he said. "If you are part of the union, you will get about $187 for eight hours of work, but if you are not, you will get around $132. And if you work more than eight hours, you will get two times of what you got, whether or not you are a union member."

The labor law applies to everyone, Frances added.

"And in the U.S., contracts are the definition of the normalcy, and I have never been in a situation where I was denied a contract," she said. "But I can barely remember signing a contract in Korea."

Natalie Fletcher, the owner and director of talent agencies, nxt|MODEL and Natalie Lynn Talent, speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at a studio in Los Angeles, Nov. 17. Korea Times photo by Kim Kang-min

Natalie Fletcher, the owner and the director of the talent agencies, nxt|MODEL and Natalie Lynn Talent, also underscored the significance of clinching a proper contract. Her company, nxtlMODEL, is home to some 200 models of diverse nationalities, including those from Korea and Thailand.

Stressing that all of her models work under the same conditions, Fletcher explained how her company and the U.S. modeling industry value transparency and protection.

"I do advise everybody to make sure that they do not sign up for an agency that charges them money and that they read those contracts," she said. "In our case, we do have a safety term in our contract and if there is anything that makes them the slightest bit uncomfortable, they have the right to leave. Concerning the fees, we take a 20 percent cut for a photoshoot and a 15 percent cut for a video. We always communicate very clearly about payment breakdown."

Failing to present a contract is a clear violation of Korean law as well, but numerous foreign artists ― including Frances ― told The Korea Times that they often had to work without written proof. This illegal practice, indeed, has been the elephant in the room over the past decades in the Korean entertainment industry.

The country also has a law restricting those under the age of 18 from working more than seven hours a day or 40 hours a week, as well as a set of safety rules aimed at protecting workers. But they are not strictly enforced on set, and no government agency exercises sufficient oversight to right the wrong, especially when it comes to foreigners. E-6-1 visa holders often cannot even file a lawsuit, because they would be required to change their visa status if they want to bring their issues before a court.

Dave Ratner, the founder and managing partner at Creative Law Network, speaks during a Zoom interview with The Korea Times, Dec. 1. Screenshot from Zoom

In contrast, Dave Ratner, the founder and managing partner at Creative Law Network in Denver who specializes in entertainment, says he is not aware of any exceptions to protection for artists and entertainers based on their residency or a legal status in the U.S.

"I think foreigners are valued here," he added. "They bring their own cultural experiences and their unique types of art to the U.S., which we may or may not have here. The law applies equally to everyone regardless of their nationality here with some exceptions, but as far as we are talking about people in the arts and entertainment space, there is absolutely equal treatment under the law."

Glimmer of hope

Fibbe believes there has to be a union for foreign entertainers in Korea and more laws in place.

"This is going to take an overhaul of the entire system," he pointed out.

In September, a new law to protect the rights of artists ― both Koreans and foreigners ― went into effect in Korea, which stipulates that the artists' freedom of expression should be guaranteed and that there should be policies to enhance their labor and welfare conditions. It also mandated national institutions to come up with policies to prevent sexual harassment and sexual violence against artists.

Park Kyong-ju, a non-standing committee member at Art Council Korea and the founder of the Diverse Artists of Korea Association, speaks during a recent interview with The Korea Times at a studio in Seoul. Korea Times photo by Kim Kang-min

Park Kyong-ju, a non-standing committee member at Art Council Korea and the founder of the Diverse Artists of Korea Association, sees a glimmer of hope with the new legislation.

"We are quite optimistic that better welfare and more inclusion will follow suit," she said. "But this might be difficult to achieve unless the artists themselves speak out on the matter. They must continue to use their voice and file petitions to make sure that the challenges they face are heard and understood. We should continue to improve the system and report incidents of sexual harassment, unfair work contracts and other violations. This could eventually pave the way for the inclusion of foreigners in the country's welfare laws governing artists."

She added, "Respect for cultural diversity is an essential component of basic human rights, and I would say a country that does not uphold these values stands against humanity."