Baek Ji-young Opens Up About GEM, a 3-4 Year Effort to Protect Fellow Entertainers' Mental Health
Baek Ji-young discussed GEM on YTN Radio's Wise Radio Life, explaining how repeated meetings at colleagues' funerals led her to act as a Gatekeeper. She also spoke firmly about legal punishment for malicious comments.
Singer Baek Ji-young has revealed the activities of GEM, a group she formed to monitor the psychological crises of her colleagues in the entertainment industry. The core mission is to act as 'Gatekeepers' who do not simply pass by when they discover warning signs from colleagues, but instead connect them with experts.
Appearing on YTN Radio's 'Wise Radio Life,' Baek Ji-young explained the motivation behind the formation and the purpose of the activities of GEM (Gatekeepers for Entertainers' Mental health), a group dedicated to protecting the mental health of celebrities.
"I felt I was meeting them too often at funerals"
Regarding the background of starting the group, Baek Ji-young said, "At some point, I started thinking that I was meeting colleagues too often at their funerals after they had turned their backs on the world, so I started this group." She explained that the psychological pain and sense of responsibility she felt upon hearing tragic news about colleagues led to these actual activities.
She is currently participating in GEM activities alongside fellow entertainers such as Shin Ae-ra, Lee Sung-mi, and Song Eun-i. This group, which has continued for about 3–4 years, is tasked with detecting psychological crisis signals from colleagues and connecting them to experts.
Gatekeeper activities with Shin Ae-ra, Lee Sung-mi, and Song Eun-i
Regarding the method of operation, Baek Ji-young stated, "Even if we are not close or do not have their contact information, if someone looks to be in danger, we ask for their contact info to communicate." The reason this draws attention is that the group does not stay within the bounds of close friendships, but instead moves by reaching out first to colleagues who appear to be in danger.
As the group continued, experts also joined. Baek Ji-young explained that she is undergoing a process of checking the direction of activities and finding the right path together with experts.
Firm stance on malicious comment punishment
Baek Ji-young also criticized the culture of malicious comments that drive entertainers into mental slumps. She stated that she has taken firm legal action against attacks directed at herself and her family, saying, "When I feel like my family is being attacked, I pursue punishment."
In particular, she pointed out the atmosphere where people take being punished for malicious comments lightly. Baek Ji-young noted, "There is a strange culture where people boast about being punished for malicious comments," emphasizing, "Punishments that include the character for 'criminal penalty' (hyeong), such as fines, are actual criminal punishments, and they must realize that this can cause problems in their future social lives."
Baek Ji-young's remarks simultaneously showed the GEM activities to protect the lives of colleagues and her firm response to malicious comments. It is a moment that prompts a re-examination of why mental health protection and a healthy comment culture are necessary both inside and outside the entertainment industry.
