Jang Ja Yeon List, Lee Eun Joo Case Re-examined

Recent dramas are evoking strong déjà vu and immersion in viewers by featuring events reminiscent of the late Lee Eun-ju case and the Jang Ja-yeon list. ENA dramas 'Climax' and 'Honor: Women's Law' are tackling these reality-based narratives.

ENA's 'Climax' depicts the survival stories of a prosecutor aiming for the highest power in South Korea and the people around him. Director Lee Ji-won stated at a press conference that "some episodes are based on actual events."

Specifically, episode 3 of 'Climax' revealed a scene where a film actress makes an extreme choice after filming an excessive bed scene, which brings to mind late actress Lee Eun-ju, who passed away in 2005. Late Lee Eun-ju was known to have suffered severe psychological distress after filming the movie 'The Scarlet Letter,' and it is reported that she experienced significant burden due to the intense exposure and bed scenes at the time.

The recently concluded ENA drama 'Honor: Women's Law' also included numerous events that mirrored reality. The drama portrays female lawyers confronting massive past scandals, investigating online platform-based sexual exploitation, power-related corruption, and cartels.

The plot of 'Honor' is reminiscent of real-life events such as the Nth Room and Burning Sun incidents. In particular, the rookie actress sexual favors incident involving the 'Seo Ji-yoon list' in the drama brings to mind the 'Jang Ja-yeon list' incident that actually occurred in the entertainment industry in 2009. At the time, the late Jang Ja-yeon died after leaving behind a document alleging she was forced to provide sexual favors to influential figures, revealing power-related corruption involving the entertainment, political, and business worlds, but the truth was never fully uncovered. The digital sex crime narrative handled in 'Honor' also evokes these invisible cartels and concealed structures.