Kim Tae-ri stirs controversy with unpaid subtitling project

Actress Kim Tae-ri, best known for starring in Twenty-Five, Twenty One and The Handmaiden, has come under fire after requesting for fans to participate in an unpaid subtitling project.

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On May 22, the 33-year-old actress shared the launch of her new subtitling project in a now-deleted Instagram post, which called for fans to aid in translations of her vlog series, So This Is The Place?.

The post, as archived on Koreaboo, included a link to a Google Form where fans could sign up to translate the vlogs from Korean or English into their native languages on a voluntary basis.

No compensation was offered by Kim or her agency Entertainment MMM, apart from the option to include the emails or social media handles of the volunteer translators at the end of the vlogs.

Per Koreaboo, the actress and agency soon came under fire by fans in online communities for asking what netizens described as “free labour”. Many pointed out that translation work is usually paid due to its time-consuming nature and difficulty – which Entertainment MMM was aware of, as the company noted in its Google Form that a 30-40 minute video could take up to six hours to translate.

Kim deleted her Instagram post later that day following the backlash, with Entertainment MMM later addressing the controversy in a statement on May 23. The agency said that the vlog series “does not generate any revenue from advertisements or other means”, and that Kim’s commitment to her fans had been the driving force behind the series.

“The only intent behind the request for translation help was to make the vlogs more accessible to international fans,” the company said. “Despite our intentions, however, we acknowledge and deeply regret the unintended distress this announcement caused to numerous individuals.”

The agency added that it had never intended to “take advantage of anyone” in the process of creating the vlog series, and claimed that “when there were circumstances that required compensation, we ensured that it was provided in a fair manner”. Read Entertainment MMM’s full statement here.

At the time of publishing, Kim has yet to personally address the situation. Neither Entertainment MMM nor the actress have commented on the future of the subtitling project. However, the Google Form has since been taken down.

The post Kim Tae-ri stirs controversy with unpaid subtitling project appeared first on NME.