Naver Webtoons “One other World Pong Pong Man” and “Get Schooled” / Captured from Naver Webtoon
By KTimes
Naver Webtoon, Korea’s largest webtoon platform, is going through backlash after controversial works that includes misogynistic and discriminatory content material have been accredited throughout its screening course of, resulting in public criticism and requires boycotts.
The latest backlash started when “One other World Pong Pong Man,” a webtoon that portrays a person discovering his spouse’s infidelity, handed the preliminary screening for Naver Webtoon’s 2024 World Webtoon Contest.
The story presents girls in a derogatory gentle, depicting them as manipulative and deceitful. The title is derived from a misogynistic time period, “pongpongnam,” that means an peculiar man who will get married to a girl who seeks monetary stability reasonably than love and companionship.
Pong Pong itself is a reference to a preferred detergent model in Korea, symbolizing the person’s function in caring for a lady whose love has washed away.
Because the webtoon’s debut in September, it has confronted ongoing boycotts, significantly amongst younger girls.
Naver Webtoon lately noticed a drop of round 200,000 every day customers from its regular 2.2 million, largely attributable to boycotts over the controversial webtoon.
In a associated incident, on Nov. 7, followers of actor Kim Nam-gil issued a press release urging him to keep away from taking part within the TV adaptation of “Get Schooled,” a webtoon steadily criticized for selling racism, misogyny and help for corporal punishment in colleges.
Responding the following day, Kim declined the function, saying, “If it makes many individuals uncomfortable, it is best to not tackle such a undertaking.”
An announcement issued by actor Kim Nam-gil’s followers urging him to not take part within the TV adaptation of the webtoon “Get Schooled.” Yonhap, and screenshot from X
Regardless of mounting criticism, Naver Webtoon has provided a minimal response, saying that it’s “conscious of the opinions surrounding the work” and is transferring to the second screening spherical.
Customers felt additional provoked when Naver posted a message on social media showing to mock the boycott motion, which prompted the Webtoon Authors’ Affiliation to challenge a press release condemning the platform’s dismissive perspective.
This selective strategy has raised accusations of bias, as Naver Webtoon beforehand made swift adjustments to scenes deemed offensive to males in different works, akin to modifying a scene in “Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint.”
Cultural critic Sung Sang-min mentioned, “Whether or not attributable to income issues or inside bias, Naver Webtoon seems to prioritize its male viewers, elevating questions on its social duty as a number one webtoon platform.”
A protest truck opposing the webtoon “One other World Pong Pong Man” is parked outdoors of Naver’s headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. Captured from X
In the meantime, Naver Webtoon’s “Get Schooled,” which is being tailored right into a drama, has additionally stirred controversy for depicting scenes of violence and discrimination.
The webtoon follows authorities brokers who bodily self-discipline problematic college students and academics to implement respect for the authority of academics.
The poster for the webtoon “Get Schooled” / Courtesy of Naver Webtoon
In 2021, the collection confronted harsh criticism for depicting violence towards a feminist trainer, sparking accusations of misogyny.
Final yr, it drew additional criticism from worldwide readers for an offensive portrayal of a black pupil, leading to its elimination from North American platforms.
Nonetheless, the manufacturing firm YLAB introduced plans to proceed with the drama adaptation, citing the webtoon’s reputation.
Critic Sung mentioned that “these points are certain to affect the drama’s adaptation, but the manufacturing firm has neither issued a press release nor shared plans to deal with these issues, demonstrating an absence of alignment with the worldwide motion towards discrimination and hate.”
This text from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Instances, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Instances.
