FactMan 2,366 Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 Poor girls from OMG. Seriously I hope they don't feel too bad and I hope they get moral retribution somehow. But it doesn't look like it's gonna be the case in the short term. Lots of reports are being written here and there about this issue that are quite shady and this shouldn't go unnoticed. Even kor_celebrities senpai got annoyed at the writing of a low class Japanese reporter. Click here to view the Tweet Allkpop's article is less shady than BBC's lol. Yes you read that right. Allkpop wrote an article about an issue that sucks less than BBC's. Now that's saying a lot, BBC, shame on you. In 2012, the government clamped down on over-sexualised performances by threatening to give higher age ratings to films, music videos and TV shows which exaggerated the sexuality of younger singers and bands Completely unrelated but the BBC writer is attempting to make it look like this is related to over-sexualisation in Kpop when NOPE. I greatly dislike this sensasionalist writing and you all should greatly dislike it too. Instead of informing, it misinforms and enforces prejudices and cheap thoughts. There is, however, another side to the situation that I want to emphasize on. US Customs are not at fault. However, if the girls were a bunch of Dutch popstar hopefuls, they would have passed through swiftly I'M SURE. The 'sister' cultural misinterpration put aside, which is a fault from both sides (however the responsibility lies on the Korean side for not knowing better), is an irrelevant element when looking at the big picture, which is what I'm emphasizing on. The WM Ent. people should have been prepared for all that crap, honestly. They should have known that over there, they will not be treated fairly in the customs. Ah but no, everything's the US and the US is everything. "US sunbae! *blushes* " -_- Had they come here, for example, they girls would have been treated as princesses, the adults as VIPs and they would all be willing to come back already. This other article from a nugu site I did not know about is much better: The layers to this story are gross and multitudinous; the idea of a customs official seeing matching clothing and young Korean girls and assuming they were sex workers—if that is indeed how it went down—is horrible not only because they shouldn’t have been assumed as such, but also because they must see such scenarios with some frequency. I put those lines in bold because all the details drawn from this situation suggest that there is indeed a narrative in the US culture that led the customs officers to follow such an offensive pattern of thoughts. As quoted from the allkpop-translated WM Ent. statement: And since the members are young girls, they were mistaken as 'working women' (prostitutes) which the U.S. has a big issue with right now. this being a factual problem in the US doesn't justify any sort of prejudice whatsoever. I'll make an analogy with you being checked by customs twice or thrice looking for pot because you're from the Netherlands. It's wrong. It's wrong to be treated a certain way because of a preconceived idea. Like I said before, were they voluptuous French model hopefuls they would have been welcomed to 'Muricah. And that is fucked up. It is very sad that people long to go to a country where they are seen as lower-level scum. It is very depressing that, even though this is the case and lots of situations prove it, people still long to go to countries where they will be treated unfairly. Here's hoping for a gorgeous top class comeback that washes away everything cleanly~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sephiroth 3,892 Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 certain things were the companys fault for being messy but the fact that they were mistaken for sex workers is ridiculous Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abra 40,910 Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 Hmm but they succeeded in getting PR, not only in Korea but internationally Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonVIP 2,461 Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 The agency should have dealt with the issue better, now people only know OMG as the alleged sex workers But hey Bad publicity can also be good publicity Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_____asd 728 Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 I dont think it was such a big deal anyway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cloud Of Perception 12,466 Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 The coverage on this is getting too much now. Its not even good for the girls I am guessing they want to forget about it and move but WM is dumb for what they did Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yeokdae 3,324 Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 i'm tired of hearing about it. it isn't that big of a deal. people need to stop using it to make statements that barely even pertain to it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZobelDeAyala 928 Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 better to be safe than sorry. this practice helps keeps girls traveling to and from the US safe. what happened to those idols is unfortunate but it is what it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bearclaw 3,543 Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 "I put those lines in bold because all the details drawn from this situation suggest that there is indeed a narrative in the US culture that led the customs officers to follow such an offensive pattern of thoughts." ​Well, what do you expect? Human trafficking is a serious thing, how is this an offensive thought pattern to be trained to keep watch for possible traffickers and women forced into it? honestly, its a mess on the part of their company for not taking proper efforts into handling how they travel into other countries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vortex 7,015 Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 better to be safe than sorry. this practice helps keeps girls traveling to and from the US safe. what happened to those idols is unfortunate but it is what it is. ^this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HugeBoi Minos Wife 40,568 Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 You should not lie to authorities if you dont want to be suspected in the first place. Customs cant help but being doubtful since they were thought to think/ask this way. OMG agency fucked up and the mediaplay is not even worth it since the word "prostitute" is attached to it. People need to move on and let this "controversy" die. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StrifeRaider 4,103 Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 certain things were the companys fault for being messy but the fact that they were mistaken for sex workers is ridiculous listening to some of the statement it wasn't that crazy tbh the staff was giving some weird answers to the custom agents (which would be pretty normal for Korean standards) but in the US its a whole different matter + the load of different outfits they carried. Can't blame them for being cautious and in their eyes potentially protecting these young girls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NiniiBee 2,948 Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 Media Play ? Promotion tactics ? Honestly I don't know Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abacus 442 Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 Korean groups travel to the US pretty regularly without issue. Their company/managers must have messed up for it to have been an issue. Deep in the back of my jaded mind, I wonder if the screw up was manufactured intentionally to gain some media play. I hope not for the group's sake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aomazza 196 Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 ^ I don't think the company would lie on purpose like saying the "sister" thing. Maybe it was just a bad mistake on the company's part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YuichiP 96 Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 i'm tired of hearing about it. it isn't that big of a deal. people need to stop using it to make statements that barely even pertain to it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sun☼Shine 4,273 Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 Honestly the whole entire situation was the company's fault. They lied about the visas and their relation to the girls. Also, they're the ones that mentioned that the girls were mistaken for sex workers. That is a piece of information that could've been left out. Customs did the right thing to make sure that laws were not being broken and the girls' safety wasn't in jeopardy. Like other people have been saying, What would you do if you caught two older males leading a group of young girls around an airport lying about visas and relations, with luggage that proves they were not just tourists? The only people I feel sorry for are the girls. Because of their agency's incompetence, they've had to go through a really embarrassing ordeal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miracle Mind! 214 Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 Honestly the whole entire situation was the company's fault. They lied about the visas and their relation to the girls. Also, they're the ones that mentioned that the girls were mistaken for sex workers. That is a piece of information that could've been left out. Customs did the right thing to make sure that laws were not being broken and the girls' safety wasn't in jeopardy. Like other people have been saying, What would you do if you caught two older males leading a group of young girls around an airport lying about visas and relations, with luggage that proves they were not just tourists? The only people I feel sorry for are the girls. Because of their agency's incompetence, they've had to go through a really embarrassing ordeal. ^ I don't agree with the sisters thing as being a lie because in South Korea it's normal. The staff doesn't know about U.S culture enough to not say that but everything else I agree with you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idontlikekpopanymore 2,087 Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 they could have searched the girls in google. poor girls Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idontlikekpopanymore 2,087 Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 Media Play ? Promotion tactics ? Honestly I don't know It sure is something more interesting than the picture of someone at the airport. Moreover, I don't think WM has something with the international media for media player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puremystic 3,078 Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 ^ I don't agree with the sisters thing as being a lie because in South Korea it's normal. The staff doesn't know about U.S culture enough to not say that but everything else I agree with you. not sure why i'm stilling following this but just think they called them sisters and not singers because they didn't want to prove they they're not just tourists but going there for work.. leading back to having the wrong visas it was all a poorly done trick in order to get away with using tourist visas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
defensequeen 503 Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 "What you're not being told is that OMG doesn't qualify for a P1 visa. They haven't been together long enough (at least a year). They could have come in under a P3 visa or even a B1. But they didn't. They tried to come in under the VWP with a minor. Then they said they were there for work (photo shoot). THEN they appeared to be trying to pass themselves off as family. A lot of customs officials have daughters themselves and will be damned before they let anything even remotely looking like human trafficking happen on their watch. IF WM had its shit together, this never would have happened. But they didn't and the girls paid the price for it. What appears to have happened is that WM tried to skate in on the VWP with a minor and got busted when how they were doing things fell into a profile that is used to catch human traffickers and save those they enslave. WM needs to quit trying to blame people just doing their jobs for their fuck up. " Credit to the OP who posted this on an Allkpop article. For everyone who wants to bash TSA and LA Airport please actually know all the facts first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goten21 2,501 Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 Was it really that hard to just... Google them or something? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mentis 551 Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 The layers to this story are gross and multitudinous; the idea of a customs official seeing matching clothing and young Korean girls and assuming they were sex workers—if that is indeed how it went down—is horrible not only because they shouldn’t have been assumed as such, but also because they must see such scenarios with some frequency. You highlighted everything in that quote but the phrase that really helps put things into perspective. Human trafficking is a concern, and I'd much rather the authorities keep a careful watch on who's entering the country than make excuses for a K-pop group. On paper, the situation sets off all sorts of alarm to customs. 1. They're a group of young girls who clearly aren't sisters, yet their adult managers are trying to pass them off as sisters. Falsifying their identities is already a big concern. 2. They have a bunch of clothing, props and filming equipment in their luggage, even though they're only there as tourists. It's clear that their intentions are different from what they claim, which is again suspicious. If customs really does encounter human trafficking with some frequency, OMG's situation would definitely raise a flag. Ultimately, the company was probably just trying to find an easier way to get into the country, and made up a few lies to help them with that. But I don't think this is really about racism. No matter where you're from, if you decide to lie to customs, you're not going to have a good time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
etching 264 Posted December 12, 2015 Share Posted December 12, 2015 On paper, the situation sets off all sorts of alarm to customs. 1. They're a group of young girls who clearly aren't sisters, yet their adult managers are trying to pass them off as sisters. Falsifying their identities is already a big concern. 2. They have a bunch of clothing, props and filming equipment in their luggage, even though they're only there as tourists. It's clear that their intentions are different from what they claim, which is again suspicious. If customs really does encounter human trafficking with some frequency, OMG's situation would definitely raise a flag Another reason they raised suspicion: http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-k-pop-group-denied-entry-lax-20151211-story.html Korean-language media in Los Angeles have reported anecdotally that young South Korean women are increasingly facing scrutiny from immigration authorities based on the suspicion that they may be entering the country to illegally work in the Koreatown nightlife scene. One problem local authorities have recently focused on are “doumi†girls at Koreatown karaoke clubs, for-hire party girls who are paid about $120 for two hours to encourage men to drink. Operators of doumi girl businesses openly advertise on Korean websites, recruiting South Korean women to travel to the United States with the promise of quick cash for a couple months' work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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