It is extremely difficult for victims of sexual abuse to ever admit what happened to them but Yang Ye Won has decided to be brave and voice out her story in hopes of saving other girls from facing the nightmare she went through.
On May 16th, the famous Korean YouTuber uploaded a video with the title I’m a Victim of a Sex Crime. Please Listen to My Story, according to Allkpop.
Apparently, the viral nude pictures which have been circulating around the web right now are pictures of her. She explained that it was during these photoshoots when she got sexually harassed.
She said,
“All the people who love me told me that I’m a victim so I shouldn’t hide and be in pain.
“So I’ve gained the confidence and want to reveal how there are many victims and bad people doing bad things in Korea.”
The incident took place 3 years ago when she was still in her early 20s and was hoping to debut as an actress. She found a job opportunity as a fitting model through a part-time job site.
She went for an interview in a studio and subsequently signed a contract for 5 photoshoots.
Apparently, the director said,
“It’ll be a shoot with a normal concept. There are going to be varying concepts and one of them will be sexy. Celebrities try varying concepts all the time.
“Since you want to start acting, we will shoot the expensive profile photos for you for free.”
However, things turned differently on the shooting day. When Ye Won walked into the studio, there were 20 men inside with cameras and they shut the doors with locks making it impossible for her to escape.
The director then made her change into sexy lingerie which porn stars typically wear. He pressured her into doing so by saying,
“All these people paid to be here. They can sue you for compensation (if you don’t follow directions). And I’ll also block you from becoming an actress.
“You already signed the contract. The reservations are already all set for the next photoshoots. You won’t be able to handle it if they sue you.”
That was when the men ‘helped’ her with poses by holding her in lewd positions and groping her private areas.
Ye Won explained,
“I thought to myself that I might be raped and dead if I don’t follow along. So I just continued, trying to get out of here alive.
“I smiled when they told me to smile, I made finger hearts when they told me to make hearts, I opened my legs wide, stuck my tongue out, held my breasts, and pulled down my underwear when they told me to.”
For the following 4 photoshoots, she was also treated this way.
Since the incident passed, she couldn’t live a day without remembering the nightmare she went through. In fear of her photos being leaked, she decided to give up her dreams of becoming an actress too.
Suddenly, on May 8th, 2018, the photos suddenly leaked online!
The photos were sent to her friends and even boyfriend. Because of this, she also received lots of sexually harassing messages.
However, after realising she was but an unfortunate victim in a horrid scam, everyone encouraged her to fight against the issue. Hence her reason for posting out this video.
“I’m having trouble breathing, my hands are shaking, and tears are rolling as I recall the nightmare.
“Please help me. Please spread this so people know that things like this really happen and we can prevent more victims. Please, save me.”
You can watch the full video below:
Her video soon went viral in less than 24 hours and people even started a petition asking the Blue House, the executive office and official residence of the South Korean president.
According to Koreaboo, actress and singer Bae Suzy even publicly showed her support towards this issue. She took a snapshot of her signing the petition.
Just a couple of hours after Suzy shared the picture, people started to do so as well. From 11,000 signatures, the petition suddenly saw over 50,000 signatures.
Allkpop also added that the studio which was accused of this sexual harassment has come out to defend themselves. They denied any of the accusations and added that it was completely consensual.
They want to sue Yang Ye Won as well for ‘lying’.
They said,
“The photo shoot took place with Ye Won’s agreement. We did not force it.
“At the time, we obtained the signature from the photographers, promising not to leak the photos. Things are flowing in an odd direction when what we actually have to do is find the person who leaked the photos.
“I’m also going to be suing her back for false allegations.”
Let there be justice.
