I Live Alone exposed the Japanese major publisher Shogakukan during its broadcast, sparking controversy among viewers. The publisher has recently been criticized over allegations that it tried to reinstate a writer with a history of child sexual offenses under a pseudonym.
On the 13th, MBC's I Live Alone showed webtoon author Kian84 heading to Japan with Gangnam to meet Junji Ito, the master of Japanese horror manga. That day Kian84 wore a suit and tie to meet his idol, and behind-the-scenes footage revealed that Gangnam personally visited the publisher to arrange the meeting.
In particular, the scene where the two visited the publisher to meet Junji Ito recorded a peak minute rating of 6.4% (Nielsen Korea, national households), marking the show's "best minute."
However, after the broadcast, viewers pointed out a problem that the Shogakukan building was exposed on terrestrial television during the process of going to meet Junji Ito. Shogakukan is a leading Japanese publisher that publishes various manga magazines including Weekly Shonen Sunday, Monthly CoroCoro Comic and Big Comic Spirits. It is also the publisher behind popular works such as Doraemon, Inuyasha and Detective Conan.
The problem is that a controversy known as the "Shogakukan incident" has recently erupted in Japan. The incident sparked an outcry after allegations arose that the publisher tolerated or aided a manga artist with a history of child sexual offenses who resumed work under a pseudonym.
At the center of the incident is Shoiki Yamamoto, the author of the manga Tachenn Operation (real name Kurita Kazuyaki). He was arrested in 2020 on charges of violating the child pornography prohibition law for sexually abusing an apprentice who was 15 at the time from 2016 for about four years. Afterward, Shogakukan was accused of attempting to bring him back as a story writer for the new work Merchant Mask under the new pen name Ichiro Hajime instead of expelling him.
It also became a major controversy when it emerged during civil court proceedings that a publisher editor had been present during negotiations with the victim and offered a settlement of about 1.5 million yen (about 13 million won), conditioning confidentiality of the case and resumption of serialization.
When this became known, the Japanese manga world and online communities reacted strongly. Some users even certified their withdrawal from Shogakukan's webtoon platform MangaONE and organized boycotts of the publisher's works, forming a critical public opinion. Shogakukan later apologized, saying, "there was a lack of awareness of human rights," but the controversy did not subside easily.
Because of this, some viewers reacted negatively, saying "It was inappropriate to expose a publisher with allegations of child sexual offenses without any explanation," "Did the production crew not know about the incident?", "Was it necessary to show this on terrestrial TV?", and "Isn't this effectively promoting a corporation with sensitive controversies?"
Meanwhile, other viewers argued that "it was simply a natural scene showing Kian84 on his way to meet his idol Junji Ito," "there was no intent to promote the publisher," and "it is understandable in context because it is a symbolic place in the Japanese manga world," saying the criticism was excessive.
[Photo] OSEN DB, broadcast capture
[OSEN]