Yi Rang [Yonhap Photo]
A prestigious music award ceremony this week in South Korea saw an unusual award acceptance speech by a 32-year-old indie artist who extemporaneously held an onstage auction to pay her rent by trading her trophy for cash.
"My honor is fulfilled with this trophy. However, without prize money, it's meaningless," Yi Rang said during her acceptance speech at the Korean Music awards Tuesday after being awarded the "Best Folk Music" for her song "God's Play"
"I've only earned 420,000 won (368 US dollars) last month and 960,000 won this month. So I will have to put this trophy up for an auction to pay my rent," she said. She was able to pay her monthly rent estimated at 500,000 won after a man walked up the stage to buy the trophy.
The singer's surprise action stirred controversy. While some fans criticized her for thoughtlessly trading off her musical achievement for cash, others were sympathetic saying the case raised the alarm on the polarization of wealth in South Korea's music community.
On the surface, the music industry spotlighted by hotshot K-pop idols seems brilliant and hopeful. But the real life of many artists is far different with an indie artist earning an average of about 690,000 won a month, according to a government study in 2012. Some 22 percent said they had to spend more than 40 hours a week on extra economic activities to make living.
Their poor life caught public attention when Lee Jin-won, known as "Moonlight Fairy", died after being hit by a stroke in 2010. Doctors diagnosed malnutrition and a chronic disease. Similar cases have been reported sporadically amid growing calls for a state program to help poor artists.
Park Sae-jin = swatchsjp@ajunews.com
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
