Tag: guardian

  • Gong Yoo opens up about battling mental health issues after the success of K-drama ‘Guardian’

    South Korean actor Gong Yoo cemented himself as an international star after his critically acclaimed drama ‘Guardian: The Great and Lonely God’ aired on Netflix in 2016. The quest for an immortal man or ‘Goblin’, to find his bride who might undo his curse was an instant hit.

    At a recent appearance at the South Korean talk show Pinggyego, Gong Yoo revealed that the success of ‘Goblin’ began taking a toll on his mental health.

    “Guardian: The Lonely and the Great God did very well, but I wasn’t happy. I was happy it did well, but apart from that, there was a time when I felt so empty and I couldn’t wake myself up. It’s not that the work was hard or that it went well, I wasn’t able to enjoy spotlight when projects were a success,” the actor confessed.

    The ‘Coffee Prince’ actor further elaborated that it wasn’t easy to open up about the mental health issues he was dealing with, because it would have made other people seem like he wasn’t grateful for the success the show achieved.

    “It feels like I’m not grateful. After going through a hard time like that, the way I look at people around me changed. I felt like I was more nosy in that I didn’t want them to go through the same hurt.”

    ‘Guardian: The Great and Lonely God’ centers around the Goryeo Dynasty military general Kim-Shin (played by Gong Yoo) who is cursed with immortality after he’s killed by the King. He must live on for generations until he finds the Goblin’s bride: a woman who has the power to pull out the sword in his chest to end his immortality. The drama also stars prominent Korean actress Kim Go-eun and Lee Dong-Wook. On it’s release, ‘Goblin’ was declared a cultural phenomenon in Korea and won numerous awards, including Best Actor for Gong Yoo, and Best Writer for script writer Kim Eun-Sook.

  • British retailer Boohoo probes Pakistan suppliers for ‘underpaying’

    British retailer Boohoo probes Pakistan suppliers for ‘underpaying’

    British online fashion group Boohoo is under fire for allegedly exploiting Pakistani workers. The brand said on Wednesday that it is investigating a Guardian report that its suppliers were underpaying workers in Pakistan.

     The Guardian reported that employees at two factories in Faisalabad making clothes for Boohoo were earning Rs10,000, or £47 ($62) per month that is below the legal monthly minimum wage for unskilled labour of Rs17,500.

    The report added that it had video and photographic evidence to support the claims of potential safety issues such as parking of the motorbikes in the indoor areas next to flammable materials. In the rush to produce clothes for the western market, insiders claimed workers would sometimes do 24-hour shifts.

    Responding to the allegations, Boohoo said it had called upon inspection and compliance specialists Bureau Veritas to probe the claims on the ground in Faisalabad.

    “As we have previously stated, we will not tolerate any instance of mistreatment or underpayment of garment workers,” Boohoo added in a statement.

    Earlier this year, Boohoo has been accused that one of its suppliers in England paid workers much less than the national minimum wage.

    “Any supplier who does not treat their workers with the respect they deserve has no place in the Boohoo supply chain,” its statement added.

    Another factory whose working conditions are criticised in the report, Madina Gloves, strongly refuted the allegations.

    “The situation on the ground is completely different. The reporter never visited my factory and I challenge him to bring forward a single quote from the workers of the factory. I am considering taking him to the court,” the owner Muhammad Saleem Shahzad told AFP.

    Shahzad added that since the article had published, he had already received calls from three different UK clients to cancel orders.

    “I want to ask what service this report has done to my employees who are going to lose their job now?”

    The Guardian report comes after Boohoo in November appointed Brian Leveson to help “deliver long-lasting and meaningful change” to the group’s supply chain and its business practices.

    Leveson is best known for heading a 2012 inquiry into UK media standards following the hacking of celebrities’ phones by the now-closed News of the World tabloid, which was owned by Rupert Murdoch.