Singer MC Mong said he is preparing to launch an Excel broadcast, a type of internet streaming show that has drawn ethical criticism and been dubbed a "cyber room salon."
MC Mong said Wednesday on a TikTok live stream that he is working on an Excel broadcast and plans to launch it in October.
Excel broadcasts feature multiple internet broadcasters competing in real time for viewer donations, with rankings and totals displayed in spreadsheet form. The format has drawn widespread criticism — often described as a "cyber room salon" — because female broadcasters frequently wear revealing outfits and perform suggestive dances to attract donations.
MC Mong did not specify what format his broadcast would take, leaving open the question of whether he can avoid the controversies typically associated with the genre.
His turn to Excel broadcasting appears to stem from his being effectively shut out of mainstream media. MC Mong was a prominent singer and broadcaster in the 2000s but stepped back from public life in 2010 after becoming embroiled in a military service scandal. He was indicted on charges of deliberately having his teeth pulled to avoid conscription and of repeatedly lying over seven years to defer his enlistment. He was acquitted on the deliberate tooth-extraction charge but was found guilty of deferring enlistment through deception and sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for one year.
Observers suggest he may also have been influenced by singer Shin Jung-hwan, who took on an MC role for an Excel broadcast last April, also to controversy.
When the backlash erupted, Shin defended his decision. "Did anyone think I didn't know what people would say? I was once at the top, so do you think this choice was easy? I agonized over it hundreds of times. There were countless sleepless nights — I hesitated and hesitated again," he said. "It is better for me to endure than for my family to suffer. That was my final answer as the head of the household."
Shin's situation mirrors MC Mong's in that his broadcasting career also effectively stalled after a 2010 overseas gambling scandal.
The two are close friends. MC Mong recently invited Shin onto a TikTok live stream, during which he mentioned watching a viewer donate to Shin's Excel broadcast.
paq@heraldcorp.com
