Freedom of expression for entertainers

By Kim Ji-hyun

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A broadcasting company recently banned an actress from appearing on its program for expressing her political opinion in a talk show. The expression of political and social opinions in public by a growing number of entertainers has been causing a controversy here. In my opinion, entertainers shouldn't be oppressed from expressing their opinions in public.

First of all, in a democratic society, all people have the right to speak freely, and entertainers are not an exception. If they want to, entertainers should speak and express themselves and that's what freedom of speech provides us.

Oprah Winfrey invited president Barack Obama on her show and helped in his presidential campaign. Korea is actually the only country that bans celebrities from expressing their political opinions.

Secondly, entertainers' activities concerning social issues have had a positive influence on people, especially the fans. In Korea pop star Lee Hyori who fights for animal rights made her fans also interested in her cause.

An actress fighting for laborers' rights also encouraged people to participate in her struggle. Since Korean adolescents are criticized for being indifferent to society, entertainers can spur teenagers to become more interested in social issues.

Lastly, viewers won't blindly accept the entertainers' ideas. Viewers have their own points of view and they'll critically accept the star's idea. If a top star makes a wrongful remark, even fans agree they made a mistake and ask him or her to apologize.

Likewise, viewers are capable of carefully weighing the opinions of stars according to their own values. We don't need to worry that celebrities will seriously and negatively affect "immature" fans.

"Socialtainers" a combined word used here from "social" and "entertainers", means an entertainer expressing their opinions in public actively.

The number is growing every day. Although lots of people worry about socialtainers, I think their positive influence far outweighs the negative effects. They can stimulate people to participate in social activities, and since they are also citizens they have a right to speak freely.

Also their opinions do not harm viewers because viewers critically and logically accept stars' opinions. Again entertainers should not be banned from expressing their opinions freely in public.

The writer is a second year student at Kangwon Science High school.