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Lee Dong-wook, a good man

in ,
Lee Dong-wook, a good man

I wasn’t sure which sub to post in, so I hope here is suitable 🙂 My questions are: To what extent do South Koreans value people expressing personal opinions? And what impact does it / should it have when a famous person expresses their opinion?

Bear with me, please… 😊

I watched with excitement as the court ruling was delivered to former-President Yoon for his oppression of the democratic process and for making criminal leadership decisions last year, and commented in this sub straight away. I discovered the following day, that my favourite actor, Lee Dong-wook, had also responded to the ruling immediately on his chosen media with the simple phrase “Spring has finally come”.

I’m a relatively anonymous English woman and enjoy the freedom of speech to express my opinions due to many years of democracy in my nation. But as I looked into the backlash that Lee Dong-wook is reported to have experienced, it really grieved my heart. I think of Mr Lee a bit like “Korean Keanu”, globally beloved and respected for his iconic roles and restrained, kind-hearted personality (and he’s hot as toast in a black suit too, lol). Yet this likeable man appears to have had a super toxic pile-on from netizens and even a singer in Canada denigrating him for having a political opinion full-stop because he’s an actor. Why does that matter – or does it matter more in South Korea?

You could think that opinions are like bumholes, everybody’s got one but maybe don’t air yours in public. But you could also agree with Edmund Burke when he paraphrased English philosopher John Stuart Mill (who himself pinched the concept from the Bible) saying: All it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.

So what (in your opinion 😁) is the South Korean response to expressing personal opinions on weighty matters, please? Stand up and be counted, or don’t rock the boat?

https://biz.chosun.com/en/en-entertainment/2025/04/05/625YJG2BQ5GVDJDQMD6MWR3FNY/

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