How Red Velvet, Bae Suzy and Gong Hyo-jin are leading K-pop and K-drama’s reckoning with Korea’s sexist culture
Whether sporting a T-shirt with a feminist slogan or commenting on criminal cases involving sexism, these South Korean idols are taking on the haters to champion the unpopular feminist cause and lead the fight against widespread gender inequality
South Korean society has been doing some belated soul searching over the issue of gender inequality of late, facing up to the deep-seated discrimination that is widely known as “men’s gender authority”. The exposure of Korea’s patriarchal culture in certain industries is starting to rile young women online, especially when it comes to K-pop and K-drama.
Sadly, the reality remains that those who speak out still require a certain amount of bravery to do so, especially in the world of entertainment where haters are rife and a squeaky clean image is key to enduring success.
Here STYLE celebrates some of the Korean female celebrities who have nevertheless stood their ground in recent months, promoting feminism and proudly airing their opinions in public.
Red Velvet’s Irene and Joy
In March 2018, Red Velvet leader Irene caused a frenzy online after revealing to her followers that she had read Cho Nam Joo’s Kim Ji Young, Born 1982 – a feminist novel addressing South Korea’s patriarchal culture, later adapted into a smash film starring Jung Yu-mi and Gong Yoo,
While female fans expressed their support for the idol, male fans took to online forums and social media to vent their anger, even posting about burning their Irene merchandise and photos.
Red Velvet member Joy also found herself in the spotlight earlier this year when she donned a “We Should All Be Feminists” T-shirt in several Instagram posts. The photos gained more traction after a netizen reposted them with the caption “Joy is being selfish”. Korean YouTuber PPKKa even uploaded a video titled “The reason Joy is selfish”, in which he told the idol to leave the group and to stop being a bad influence on her fellow members.
Undeterred, Joy has also been deliberately active in liking social media posts related to feminism and publicly scolding misogynistic men for their online sexist comments in the past. And, despite the backlash, the group remains popular. Take that, haters.
Bae Suzy
Suzy was one of the most prominent Korean celebrities backing the 2018 Blue House petition seeking to bring justice for YouTuber Yang Ye-won, who revealed she was sexually harassed by a staff member during a photo shoot at her previous modelling agency.
The actress uploaded a long written statement saying she hoped to shed light on the issue and shared a screenshot of her signed petition, yet she was heavily criticised by anti-feminists for spreading “false news” about the photography studio and staff mentioned.
Just like RV’s Joy, she was also criticised for her promotion of the book (and movie version) of Kim Ji-young, Born 1982, but her loyal fans repeatedly came to her defence.
Moon Ga-young
Find Me In Your Memory actress Moon Ga-young has a reputation for being candid when it comes to feminism – especially on her social media channels. In the past she’s used her Instagram to speak out about the Gangnam Station murder case (in which young man Kim Sung-min stabbed a random woman to death because he claimed he hated women) and has also encouraged her fans to sign petitions for the punishment of those involved in the “nth room” scandal, who were accused of profiting from sexual exploitation online.
In a radio interview with HelloKpop, the actress mentioned her tendency to post what she feels is right, despite how sensitive it is perceived to be. Of course she still receives a barrage of negative comments after each such post, but says she has learned to ignore them.
Gong Hyo-jin
View this post on Instagram세상엔 참 많은 일들이 일어났지만 난 내할일을 열심히 했고 남은건 내일과 모레 마지막 방송뿐이네. 참 고마웠고, 수고했다.
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Gong Hyo-jin is a proud feminist, making a point of working with numerous female film directors who shared her views. She also loves playing strong female roles in movies because she believes it is important for everyone to realise the struggles women go through every day and how much they need to build themselves up to progress into womanhood. As a result, her movies are usually petitioned by anti-feminist critics who call for their deletion on digital platforms and for cinemas not to screen her films.