**This investigation report/analysis has been translated as written by Dispatch**
Article: [D-eye] " I was burned black down to my nostrils...MAMA's war on dust"
Source: Dispatch
Dispatch has uncovered further idol mistreatment and unsafe conditions on the set of '2020 MAMA.'
According to Dispatch, idols that visited Paju CJ ENM Content World in early December for the pre-recording held at Studio 6 performed in poor stage environment. Idol groups danced and sang at least 2 times for at least four hours at the pre-recording and suffered from black dust to the point where one official stated that "he was burned black down to his nostrils."
Idol A stated, "The place we did the pre-recording was a new building. One of the staff members screamed at us and there was so much dust there that even the white masks we wore turned black."
Dispatch visited Paju CJENM location to conduct investigations and found that the place was currently under construction. According to the Paju City Hall building department, the construction is currently 30-40% complete and scheduled for completion by 2023. About 10 different filming studios were currently in construction and large forklifts and trucks were busy working. The parking lot (waiting room for idols) that caused controversy over discrimination of idols was a dirt sand floor. Signs such as "Be careful of snakes" and "Be careful of fire" was posted all over the place.
Idol A revealed, "The parking lot was a dirt sand floor, dust flew all over the place as the car moved. We couldn't even lower their window."
MAMA used two temporarily completed studios for the pre-recording. "Studio 6" was used as stage while "Studio 5" while used as a waiting room. All the idols did the pre-recording on Studio 6 from early December. Some idols visited Paju 2-4 times to perform. It took at least 4 hours to split up the group and individual choreos.
An idol group member told Dispatch, "When we did the pre-recording, they continued to do the construction everywhere. It was hard because the dust kept blowing. My throat was especially sore."
An official from Paju City Hall stated, "CJ ENM applied for temporary use of the studio last month. We approved Studio 5 and 6 for filming as they were currently in the final stages of completion."
Dispatch visited the pre-recording studio in perform and both Studio 5 and 6 had been demolished. Construction continued and trucks kept moving back and forth. Studio 6 environment was poor. Sand and dust mingled and attacked the team's eyes, nose and mouth. Even considering that this was after the demolition of the set, it was hard to breathe and they developed sore throats quickly.
An official from an idol agency stated, "I pinched my nose because it was itchy from all the black dust. Even the masks we wore also turned black. The damage to the idols is bound to be great because they didn't wear masks on stage and got exposed to the dust. I burned my nostrils black as well, " and didn't sound like an exaggeration.
But did CJ set up measures to deal with the fine dust? CJ said it was comfortable because its a new building. An official stated, "At the time of recording, the air conditioning system was 100% activated. We also paid attention to reducing dust by using a spray truck."
However music industry officials shook their heads and an idol agency official stated, "There was a pre-recording until the day of the live broadcast when they replaced it with a live set. I doubt they would've had any time available to remove the dust from the pre-recording set."
Dispatch was able to obtain confirmation from Paju City Hall's Environmental Conservation Division that MAMA never requested a permit under fine dust related area even though the event was to be held for singers. The official stated, "At the time of construction in 2019, we completed a dust check but never checked for fine dust before MAMA. They applied for a temporary permit for use but never requested a fine-dust related permit at all."
A music industry official stated bitterly, "the idols felt like they were props for the stage. No real singer should ever have to pre-record or perform in such an environment. In one word it was a "construction-site performance."
MAMA is Asia's largest music awards ceremony. They shouldn't have held this event at all if this is what they chose to show. If they really want to be reborn as a real music award show they need to pay attention to the things the audience can't readily see.