Thread by @manonaswann

A 2019 novel called "Made in Gangnam" (메이드 인 강남), written by a Pastor named Joo Won Kyu would play a huge role in the Burning Sun saga, along with the lurid, but unsubstantiated, tales told by its author in numerous opportunistic interviews

Here’s how

First we have to start with Kim Sang Kyo. On 24 November 2018 he was ejected from Burning Sun nightclub by staff because he was harassing women. A scuffle with staff ensued outside, police were called and Kim was taken into custody

Kim, however, presented a very different story

On 21 December 2018 Kim Sang Kyo secured an interview with Ilyo Sisa and launched a Blue House petition calling for an investigation into his treatment by the club and the police, who he alleged were colluding with Burning Sun

His petition attracted only 6008 signatures

On January 28th 2019 MBC's 'News Desk' aired a report about ‘an assault at a club owned by BiGBANG’s Seungri’ along with some cctv footage

They did not show all available cctv footage from that night

From then on Burning Sun would be referred to as ‘Seungri’s club’

On January 29 2019 Kim Sang Kyo shared a video clip on his
Instagram ‘asking anyone who has used, been victimized or knows more about the date rape drug known as GHB or any other hallucinogens to report this to SBS.’

On 29 January 2019 Kim Sang launched a second Blue House petition which attracted 312,197 signatures, prompting a response from the then-President Moon, who ordered a ‘thorough investigation’ into the Gangnam nightclubs and allegations of collusion with the police

On 15 March 2019 reports emerged of an MBC interview with Joo Won Kyu, a Pastor and author of a novel called "Made in Gangnam" (메이드 인 강남)

Joo said celebrities were investing in clubs and underage girls were being exploited but declined to identify the clubs or celebrities

In an interview with Ewha Voice on 10 April 2019 Joo Won Kyu stated that he had been working with runaway teens in early 2016 and subsequently ‘infiltrated’ the Seoul nightclubs between March-October 2016, aiming to write an
exposé, but writing a fictional book instead

The 2019 reports clearly state that Joo Won Kyu’s research was conducted in 2016, but it appears not to have been explicitly clarified that Burning Sun opened on 23 February 2018 (ie 2 years later) and therefore was not one of the unnamed clubs Joo was referring to

On April 22 2019 MBC ‘Straight’ did a feature on alleged wrongdoing in the nightclubs of Seoul in the light of Burning Sun Gate

There is no official translation of this show (and the twitter summary has been deleted) but there articles that reference the show, and Joo Won Kyu

Articles written on 22 April 2019 in response to the show effectively wrote Burning Sun (which opened in 2018) straight into the alleged incidents described by Joo Won Kyu from 2016: ‘Details of Seungri's Club Burning Sun and Other Clubs…’, ‘follow-up report on Burning Sun…’

A tweet written by a kpop fan on 23 April 2019 appropriating Joo Won Kyu’s narrative - asserting it had all taken place at Burning Sun and condemning Seungri - went viral

Their retraction did not gain as much attention as the original, and they chose not to delete their thread

On 10 July 2019 Police Chief Min Gap-ryong made a announcement in response to a Blue House Petition made on 11 April 2019: "We investigated (Burning Sun) VIP room guests and club employees in the video, but sexual assault or drug use were not confirmed during the investigation."

Once the Korean media had picked up Kim Sang Kyo’s (now discredited) tale of being ejected from Burning Sun for trying to protect vulnerable female club goers they mixed in the backstory of Joo Won Kyu’s fictional novel and created a massive story, marketed using Seungri’s name

Allegations about Kim Sang Kyo harassing women in Burning Sun were in the public domain as early as 2018 as was corroborating cctv footage

A Blue House Petition was launched on 1 March 2019 asking for an investigation into the accusations against him, gaining 40,284 signatures

Kim Sang Kyo’s narrative went largely unchallenged by the media and general public despite rebuttals with corroborating cctv being freely available throughout

Burning Sun closed on February 17 2019

Proof that Burning Sun was not Seungri’s club was available from the start, but hardly publicised

He had an indirect share in Burning Sun equating to 8% via Yuri Holding. Seungri was not involved in the operation or management of the club, just the promotional side

Notably, there appears to be no record of Joo Won Kyu reporting any of his concerns to the police, public prosecutors or any welfare agencies

He appears not to have named any of the clubs he researched but was seemingly happy to make reference to Burning Sun, the one he didn’t

Joo stated that he had wanted to write an exposé and yet, despite all the attention he received from the ‘Burning Sun Gate’, he never actually revealed detailed information that could have enabled authorities to investigate the alleged wrongdoing; he simply publicised his novel

Joo Won Kyu’s novel has been translated into French. He appears not to have initiated or been asked to participate in any investigations or inquiries regarding the events he claimed to have witnessed in 2016

Silkyloona’s twitter account appears to be no longer available

Kim Sang Kyo was convicted on 8 November 2022 of sexually assaulting/harassing a woman in Burning Sun, corroborated by cctv, obstruction of a business by causing a disturbance outside Burning Sun, and defamation

He plans to appeal

Conclusion: people to this day believe that Joo Won Kyu’s uncorroborated backstory for his novel "Made in Gangnam" is what Kim Sang Kyo observed in Burning Sun and ‘blew the whistle’ on and they’re also completely unaware that it is the backstory and supposed context for a novel

I have not provided a source list because there are certain articles which, though freely available, I would rather not put back into the public domain - please contact me if you would like any details

Thanks as always to @BB_VIP5ever95