Are you contributing to the higher rate of sexual programs too? Sexual issues that had been talked about only in private are being talked about on TV programs. ‘SNL', ‘The Witch Hunter' and ‘No More Show’, which are adult programs, reveal stories about sex delightfully and interestingly. In order to approach sex more closely, how about watching these programs once? The Chungbuk Times reported on the introduction of 3 adult programs and how people recognize these programs. -Ed.
 
Situation of increasing sexual programs
  The program ‘The Witch Hunter’ on JTBC is riding high, recording the highest viewer rating among their own programs for three straight weeks. The rating of The Witch Hunter’s broadcast on November 8th was 2.75%, which is the highest rating program in their company, The October 25th rating was 2.2%, and November 1st’s rating is still rising from 2.6%. The Witch Hunter is a sexual program. In this program, 4 entertainers read stories which are related with sex and relationships sent in by viewers, and they discuss their own opinions about the stories. These days, the broadcasting schedule of sexual programs like The Witch Hunter is increasing now. In this regard, some people have positive opinions because they think the situation is expending the topic of sex. However, others have negative opinions. They are worried about the possibility of trivializing sex. CBT gathered the information and opinions about the programs which are based on those competing ideas of people’s thoughts of this phenomenon.
 
Popular sexual programs: SNL, The Witch Hunter, No More Show
  First, SNL is a comedy program which airs every Saturday at 11p.m. on tvN. This program shows multiple sketches and digital shorts. There was a concerning voice about the program saying, “It only approaches the comedy by using sexual jokes.” However, there was also a positive voice saying, “It’s funny and refreshing,” since the program tends to allegorize about politics, society, economy, culture and so on.
  The second program called The Witch Hunter is on every Friday at 11 p.m. on JTBC. The Witch Hunter is a talk show formed by 4 entertainers(Song Si-kyung, Shin Dong-yup, Heo Ji-ung, Sam Hammington), and they talk about the troubles that have come up during relationships and sex. Furthermore, in the second part of the program, there are 3 women and a gay man, called Hong Suk-chun, on a panel who talk about the relationships from their perspectives of their gender. This program is considered as the most appropriate program because the boundaries are well set and it’s the best place for seeking advice.
  For the last show, No More Show is a talk show which is on every Friday at 4 p.m. on VIKI Channel. On the show, female guests openly talk based on their personal sexual experiences. The opinions about this program are divided by people who say the program is just trying to appeal to sexuality by filming from a down angle from time to time to see the inside of the female guests’ skirts and people who say it gives sympathy and entertainment, which is different from other programs.
 
Negative? Positive?
  The CBT has gathered the thoughts of what people think about these programs. Kim Ji-hyeon(20, Kyung Hee University) said, “I approve of these programs. Until now, the atmosphere of our country’s society about sex was too conservative and suppressed. In the case of the program The Witch Hunter, it doesn’t seem to have any problems with the rating system or cause any problem in society. I think SNL has the trait of causing an issue in society.” A woman in her thirties, who asked for anonymity, also has watched these programs and had a positive mind about the appearance and diffusion of these programs. She also said that the ratings of The Witch Hunter and SNL have no problem for teenagers to see these programs. However, she stood in a position where she thought that it’s better to have programs that give you information about sex like The Witch Hunter or No More Show, rather than use sex as an entertainment like SNL. Finally, Im Se-yeon, who’s in her forties, said, “I don’t watch these programs because they make sex seem like it’s nothing more than material to entertain people and treat it lightly when it is supposed to be beautiful and sacred.” She added, “It could be a good thing in terms of diversity of programs, but if you see them in the quality of the context, it can bring a bad phenomenon to the whole quality of the program.” 

The specialist's opinion of this phenomenon
  About the increase of the sexual programs, Bae Kuk-nam, who is a public culture critic, said, “It is TV broadcasting that reflects the social changes the fastest. On the other hand, we can think that this change in broadcasting shows the change of people’s cognition about sex. People put too much value on sex, so they are banned from talking about it. However, now we can feel that people recognize that sex is a part of their lives through the discussion on various programs about sex.
  Two years have passed since the first appearance of sexual programs. Now, people are familiar with sexual programs and think more openly about sex. There are some people who see this phenomenon as a sexual broadening, but there are other people who view this as a social collapse. It is dangerous to put too much stress on sex, but we should also be worried about trivializing on sex. It is time to balance these sexual programs.
 

By Lee Da-yeon l dy34@cbnu.ac.kr
By Heo Jae-rin l jr34@cbnu.ac.kr