Statue of Kim Hwal-lan, the founder of Ewha Women’s University, covered in messages demanding its removal for his role in mobilizing female students for the war effort

Online reaction linked the continued failure to punish collaborators to the legacy of former President Park Chung-Hee, who served in the Japanese colonial military and whose daughter is now the president of South Korea.

Article from SBS:

Controversy over the Removal of Statues to Pro-Japanese Koreans

By Kwon Ji-yoon
As time has passed, it has come out that many Koreans who were honored with a statue for their service to their country were also collaborators with the Japanese. In a new chapter in the controversy, groups are demanding that these statues be removed from public places, while others argue that they should stay as reminders.

A statue, located to one side of the Geoje POW Camp Historic Park, was erected to praise General Kim Baek-il(1917-1951), who commanded the withdrawal action in Heungnam during the Korean War, an action which saved the lives of 100,000 civilians.

(Local resident): “I guess he was great, and he did a good job during the Korean War.”

However, General Kim was also involved in the establishment of the Gando Special Forces, which took the initiative to suppress Korean independence fighters during the Japanese occupation.  Many have criticized the statue in his honor and demanded that it should be demolished. Although the mayor of Geoje ordered the statue to be removed, the organization which originally erected the statue has started legal action, resulting in a stalemate for the past three years.

This is not the only statue that has become controversial. Kim Hwal-lan(1899-1970) was the president of Ewha Women’s University and a statue in her honor was placed on the campus of the school. Kim was also involved in pro-Japanese activities, including encouraging the militarization of students, actions which have led many students at Ewha to demand the removal of the statue.

Similarly, the statues of Kim Sung-soo, founder of Korea University, at the Seoul Grand Park and of Kim Dong-in, pioneer of modern Korean literature, at the Children’s Grand Park, have also attracted controversy, as both men turned out to be pro-Japanese.

According to Professor Park Chan-seung of Hanyang University, “The main controversy over this issue has to do with the people who committed pro-Japanese activities during the Japanese colonial era but who also performed charitable deeds after the liberation from Japanese imperialism in 1945. In this case, I think it would be better to describe the historical fact just as it is.”

At the traditional village “Ara-ri chon” in Jeongseon, Gangwon Province, there was a conflict over the statue of Lee Beom-ik, a pro-Japanese governor during the Japanese colonial era. A stone inscription pointing out his indelible pro-Japanese activity was erected next to the statue praising his achievements. Illustrating both Lee’s good and wrong deeds may prove to be a historical lesson.

Kang Gi-hee, President of Cultural Action in Jeongseon, a historical revision group, said that “the history of pro-Japanese activities will never fade away if the statue is demolished. It would rather be better to make a stone inscription to remember every single act of collaboration with Japan.”

It is hard to say that this is a perfect solution for the controversy, but many argue that it would be better than a consuming debate over the removal of the statue.

Comments from Daum:

삽질인생30년님:

While those who sacrificed their lives for their country were treated like dirt, why do we have a statue for crazy guys loyal to Japanese imperialism? What a wonderful country!

국민돌쇠님:

In Daegu, Gyeong-buk, there is also a statue of a traitor, a former pro-Japanese general. Please demolish it! We will never be able to order Japan to apologize for the past without a removal of the statue.

달려라냄비님:

Why do I have to pay a tax for the establishment of a memorial hall to Park Chung-hee, a former president of Korea? There were only 1,000 pro-Japanese people officially identified. That is precious few compared to the population of 20 million at that time. However, it is true that it is not easy to punish them. But leniency suggests that those thousand have enough power to ignore over 50 million people now. Needless to say, we must know who they are.

kosmos_님:

高木正雄(Dakaki Masao-a Japanese name of Park Chung-hee). Was he buried in the Seoul National Cemetery?

하늘이님:

The top priority here is to get rid of the traces of Dakaki Masao.

어나두리님:

Sadly, it looks like I live in a country where they erect statues of traitors.

zied님:

It’s obvious that tolerating these opportunists once will lead to them taking advantage of us again and again. The pro-Japanese group should be tracked down and noted in our history so as to alert people to the dangers of traitors. Plus, it should prevent people from getting involved in the South Korean Labor Party.

계단오를땐엉덩이로올라야힙업님:

It doesn’t make sense that the people who voted for the daughter of the pro-Japanese former president are now trying to punish pro-Japanese collaborators. Don’t pretend to be against Japan.

sdfsdf님:

This is the history of Gyeongsang Province. The Huns found this region named “Silla.” After it conquered the region of the Goguryeo, it was sold by the Chinese, which led to a miserable history under them. In the Japanese invasion of Korea in 1592 for seven years, the people in this area bore Japanese babies. The riot of the bbalgaeng-i happened in Dae-gu. They always cast all votes for Grand National Party (Hannara-dang) after IMF, after the impeachment of Roh Moo-hyun, a former president, and after the general election on April 11, 2012. Still, they do the same thing for Park Geun-hye. This is Gyeonsang Provinces, home ground for Chun Doo-hwan and Il-be. They will hinder Korean unification, which will lead to the jang-gae taking over the territory of North Korea. I am confident to say that Korea will go under due to the Gyeongsang people, the Huns, and the pro-Japanese collaborators.

박병호:

This is why Japan looks down on Korea.

야옹이님:

Martyrs for our country such as Ahn Jung-geun and You Gwan-sun, we can’t find them anymore. It seems like if you want to succeed and enrich your descendants, selling out your country is the way to go.  Let me say to the Korean people: “Be happy and live longer, betray your homeland.”

메아리님:

When are you going to stop admiring the guys who sold out their country?

Blue님:

If they refuse to remove the statues, men should use them as a public toilet.

늑대소년님:

Do you know the reasons why the Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun administrations failed? It’s because they didn’t eliminate the legacy of pro-Japanese traitors. Who can?? It won’t be easy, but we should have gotten rid of all of them. If we don’t, there will be no future for our country. We should not allow history to be distorted.

PrimaVeritas님:

Why does Ddongsang-do (an insult for Gyeonsang Province) have lots of pro-Japanese guys? It can be traced back to a Japanese invasion of Korea in 1592. They are all from the same blood.

야옹이님:

I feel sorry that my father and grandfather never betrayed their country, had they done so, I would be a full, successful man.

대변인과엉덩이님:

This shows how much the stink of colonialism and betrayal still hangs on this country.

New Movement to Demolish Statues of Japanese Collaborators is a post from: koreaBANG

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From Ilbe:

Online communities in one picture (hat tip to DC Inside)

Comments from Ilbe:
부산북구화명3동:

“I Love Soccer” is supposed to be on nationalism crack [from the meme, "Kia~ Jumo!(old term for 'barmaid') Gimme a bowl of nationalism crack!" making fun of delusional nationalism] because no matter what, they stand by our national teams who are performing poorly abroad. Just look at how they supported Park Chu-young, ke ke ke ke. If you go to that site and leave a comment with the phrase, “Gimme food” [pun on Park Chu-young's name], you will be immediately tried in the people’s court, ke ke ke.

다뒤져시발:

It wasn’t funny until the last picture for Today Humor. I LOL’d, ke ke ke ke ke ke ke ke ke ke. Look at those fucking seonbis riding the groove, ke ke ke ke ke ke ke.

dmleo:

It looks like the picture for DC captures not only how they are retards but also their preference for sucking pussy to please their female users

김정은목짜르자:

This is fucking accurate but only DC and Ilbe would acknowledge it.

운항관리사:

DC is like the godfather of tard power. If I remember correctly, the bastard in the picture is Shin Dong-hoon who was on the retard contest in Infinite Challenge. As for MLB Park, they are so pretentious. They pretend to be wealthy and they claim they personally know famous people. In that picture, that dude was using all kinds of nonsensical adjectives when he could just say that the wine tasted sweet. That’s classic MLB Park.

세슘-137:

In the Women’s Generation picture, they are touching a member of Shinhwa. It is meant to show how women rule and they can get away with whatever they want.

꼬추잠지보지:

Hey, who the fuck said DC is dead. They are still alive, ke ke ke ke ke ke ke ke. They should die quickly so Ilbe can inherit their ideas.

저런저런:

DC: retard
Ilbe: criminal psycho
Ruliweb: otaku
Nate Pann: feminazi
Jjukbbang Cafe: horny women
MLB Park: pretentiousness
Daum Agora: demagoguery
Humor Univ: elementary schooler
Women’s Generation: women rule
I Love Soccer: nationalism crack
Ppomppu: beggar
Today Humor: seonbi

camel5:

They are so distinct. You can create factions and write a wuxia novel about them.

kims7:

Ilbe was too negatively depicted. We are disabled but righteous in the end.

인.실.좆 [in response to kims7]:

Fuck, I got goosebumps reading your idiotic comment. Drop that fucking pathetic Ilbe pride. Let’s just giggle like retards here and leave it at that. Wow, righteous? Fuck, a real 100% crazy bastard is here.

눈팅못하겟소:

1. DC: pussy-sucking retards
2. Ilbe: disabled and aggressive
3. Ruliweb: fucking otaku pigs
4. Nate Pann: irrational airhead leftist zombies
5. Jjukbbang: horny bitches
6. MLB Park: fucking showoff
7. Daum Agora: propaganda (that fucking bitch in The Mist)
8. Humor Univ: elementary school zerglings
9. Women’s Generation: Women can do nothing wrong (fugly bitches were harrassing Andy in that pic)
10. I Love Soccer: Kia~ Jumo! Gimme a bowl of nationalism crack!
11. Ppomppu: fucking beggars, no less, ke ke ke
12. Today Humor: Uhuh, it’s getting exciting! Pump up the music!

A Visual Guide to the Dark Underbelly of the Korean Internet is a post from: koreaBANG

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Reaction to the story online was almost unanimous in defense of Ahn and criticism of the conservative newspaper that first carried the story. The debate centered around whether Ahn’s ignorance revealed him to be merely faking empathy for the common man or whether this was all just a smear attempt from the right wing press.

Article from MBN news:

“Do you know how much ramen costs?” Ahn Cheol-soo at a loss for words

New National Assembly Member Ahn Cheol-soo got his campaign for pragmatic politics underway with his first committee hearing with small business owners.

But when a business owner questioned Ahn about whether he even knew the price of a package of ramen, the Assembly Member was left grasping for an answer.

“I think that holding a hearing with ordinary citizens who are in tough economic situations and listening to their opinions could be a good start for finding a solution,” said National Assembly Member Ahn Cheol-soo.

During the hearing, one business owner placed a wholesale box of ramen next to the microphone and took out a package, pointing out how his economic situation has worsened in recent years.

The man asked Ahn, “Do you know how much this costs? You don’t know?”

Ahn responded, “maybe 1000 won?”

“1000 won? This is what ordinary people eat every day. And Assembly Member Ahn doesn’t know? You should know these kind of things. It’s not enough to just practice politics in the National Assembly.”

The businessman was concerned not only by the lack of policies to protect small businesses, but by the lack of will among politicians to help them.

Ahn has made his name as a politician by pressing for solutions to basic economic issues.

The question now arises whether Ahn will be able to successfully introduce any of his “New Politics”, which claim to put the concerns of citizens as the highest priority.

Comments from Daum:

카이바시크님

Seriously, I don’t know the price of ice cream or ramen. They jack up the price, then they have sales all the time. If you ever buy it for face value at a store you feel like you are being ripped off.

태엽푸는새님

Nongshim has the most expensive ramen. 1000 won would have been the right answer. And is this reporter a hack for the president’s camp or what? Park doesn’t even know what the minimum wage is

19대 대통령 안철수님

What a pitiful performance by our media, they ignore the content of the committee hearing and only focus on the ramen price question. While only two members of the National Assembly showed up to the hearing on economic problems affecting the ordinary citizen, isn’t it noteworthy to see their effort to focus on pragmatic issues and their attempt to find a solution?

선거말아먹기전문인력-문죄인님

This is all I am seeing, “all ramen costs the same!!! How could he know all ramen prices!! Do you know the price of everything on the market!! Even if he says he doesn’t know, isn’t it more important that he is working hard to find out!!”

오지님

Do you think it would have solved your problems if he had known the price of ramen? ssibal, for the sake of helping people like you and me he left his position as a professor and is trying to be clean in politics, ssibal

은하님

Come on, pick your fights better. I feed my children as a meal two to three times a week and I don’t even know the exact price of ramen. Ramen is cheaper than bread and better for filling your stomach. And yet I will stand by Ahn to the very end. Because I know that he is sincere..^^

드림보이님

Whatever, I don’t know the price of ramen either. I just get a big bag at the supermarket, so I have no idea how much each one costs. (does anyone even look at the price when they buy ramen? they just look at the brand name) For the bus and subway as well, you just tap your card at the turnstile and don’t even know the price. Don’t try to make an issue out of nothing.

Fiesta님

So since I know the price of ramen I would be a good politician? You’ve got to think about the real issues rather than something minor like how much ramen costs… tsk tsk

뉴라이트역사교과서님

What can you do when the price of goods changes with every passing day. I drink milk every day but I don’t know how much it costs. This story is just an attempt to make a big issue out of nothing.

통찰자님

If someone doesn’t smokes, why would you ask them how much cigarettes cost?ㅡ,.ㅡ

CkrNCer님

Is asking about the cost of ramen a criticism? Now the conservative media are starting to show their true colors. They saw the far-right news channel FOX in America and started thinking it would be great if something like that existed over here, so they got together to concoct a new communications law to accomplish their goals. When it comes to politicizing the news, they’re just getting started.

Comments from Twitter:

부국환경팬클럽 ‏@aftenviro15h

Ahn’s “New Politics” has now turned completely into “Fool Politics ” ke ke

수유리 ‏@yunheesung4

They are saying that Ahn was left at a loss when asked “Do you know the price of ramen?” but that can happen. Couldn’t he have just answered, “I don’t really eat ramen? We know that Chung Mong-Joon has struggled to answer when asked if he knows the cost of a bus ride, just tell people when you don’t know the answer

외톨이 ‏@khcbsc4

Does eating ramen every day make you one of the common people? I don’t know the cost of ramen myself, of course it would be good to know but how can you know the prices of all the different kinds of consumer goods. The only things a political leader needs to know is history, justice, and values

행복하세요 ‏@rms3274

Can a man who claims to represent the common man play that role in politics if he doesn’t know the price of the food that common men eat?

송추강 ‏@RefereeSong4

A politician who doesn’t know the price of ramen, a staple for his “common man”, I bet he knows the price of stocks in his company

聲優, 민주시민 권창욱 ‏@KwonCW844

You think a pack of five ramen is ₩1000? I didn’t think you were that ignorant… no better than Chung Mong-Joon

Ahn Cheol-soo Criticized for Not Knowing the Price of Ramen is a post from: koreaBANG

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From NEWS1:

Korean society is in shock following the news of a sexual assault in a Korean Military Academy dormitory. The Academy’s slow response to the crime has lead to increasing public uproar.

A male cadet of the Korean Military Academy raped his female junior on the academy’s campus on May 22.

However, since the academy revealed the incident one week after it happened, people are questioning whether the academy was trying to cover up the case on purpose.

The academy announced that they did not immediately reveal the case in order to protect the victim’s privacy, but people are still criticising the academy.

One netizen said with anger via twitter, ‘The academy said they didn’t reveal the case because they wanted the victim to continue her study at school and to protect her privacy. But it shows how they deal with the sexual harassment poorly when it happens to women.’

Another netizen criticized the academy via twitter saying, ‘A senior male cadet raped his female junior, and professors encouraged students to drink heavily. Seniors forced juniors to drink alcohol, and they said it’s not the head of academy’s fault. It seems like they are still drunk.’

Currently, a male cadet is imprisoned, and a female cadet is getting psychotherapy from the Military hospital. It has been reported that the academy decided to dismiss the male cadet from the academy.

This is not the first time a cadet has been kicked out of the school for a sex crime.

In 2008, a Korean Military Academy student, with the surname Kim, was kicked out of the academy for taking a women’s picture in the subway restroom about 30 times.

According to  military law, people who studied at the Korean Military Academy for at least one year can work as a non-commissioned officer or an active soldier without getting any physical examination for conscription.

However, it seems like it will be difficult for the male cadet, an assailant, to get a noncom missioned officer job because the sexual harassment record will remain.

Comments from Nate:

hogu****

Shouldn’t they put him behind bars? Why are they talking about simple expulsion? What bullshit.

gofp****

Send them to Samchung Gyoyookdae. What rubbish. [Note: Samchun Gyoyookdae - A concentration camp that was build in 1980 by former president Chun Doo-hwan, infamous for violating human rights.]

lady****

I think if women go to the army, that kind of thing might happen a lot. It would be a good idea to have separate troops for only women and let them be trained.

smg8****

How can cadets like that be expected to protect the nation? And they complain about a lack of discipline in the army… They didn’t even know when a North Korean soldier came to their office and knocked the door. Soldiers are worse than civilians. Aspiring commissioned officers should be ashamed. pitiful

song****

They are insane. How can their professors order them to binge drink? The head of academy should resign.

dbfl****

See all the comments. They are saying that the problem is that women were admitted to the Korean Military Academy. People are always blaming the victims. Who blames whom?

coas****

Make sure he will be punished. And please prevent future incidents. It’s shameful. What would Japan would think? ‘See? Soldiers need sexual comfort.’ Japan might say something like that. What a shame!

czar****

The tragedy started when the government accepted women into the Korean Military Academy while not allowing women to apply for the regular army.

uk75****

It hasn’t been long that the president announced sexual harassment will be treated strictly. But, those people are just doing whatever they want.

ssiq****

All Officials have to be fired. If they take care of it poorly, it will be difficult to clear their name.

dice****

SB. Even though they followed the proper procedure of investigation, people are blaming them. What, should the school have advertised the incident to the four major newspapers as soon as it happened? And should they broadcast that they are going to investigate sexual harassment cases? Just blame the one who did wrong thing. Why do they make an issue out of irrelevant things? Netizens are just happy to attack them.

appr****

Honestly, why do women go the Korean Military Academy? What can they do? How can they call themselves soldier or general when they can’t even beat male private soldiers?

shak****

Why are people mentioning the gender of the cadet from article about sexual harassment? What is their purpose? We don’t have enough time to talk about only the academy’s reaction or how to punish the assailant.

onjo****

Korean Military Academy, it’s as amazing as I’ve heard.

skwo****

They embarrassed all Korean Military Academy graduates ke

Korean Military Academy Accused of Sexual Assault Cover-up is a post from: koreaBANG

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With the anniversary of Gwangju massacre a.k.a. Gwangju Democratisation Movement on the 18th of May, 1980, the gaffe by Jeon Hyosung of girl group Secret on a live radio program caused instant controversy as she used the term ‘democratisation’ in a negative light, for which Ilbe netizens have notoriously been known.

Many online communities reacted strongly. The Facebook page of underwear company ‘Yes’ using her as a model was initially flooded with critical comments. On the other hand, stigmatized online community Ilbe instantly elected her to be one of the conservative goddesses in unanimity and showed their support by mass-purchasing Secret’s singles, albums and other merchandises, temporarily shooting their new release to the top of the music charts in Korea.

Netizens tried to figure out whether she was indeed influenced by Ilbe. However, she denied any relation to Ilbe and apologized on her Twitter account. She was spotted using Internet communities such as DC Inside and MLB Park before. Many netizens speculate that she might have picked it up from DC Inside.

A sea of posts on Ilbe showing proof of purchase of Secret’s songs.

An image of Jeon Hyosung posted on Ilbe.
‘We do not democratise.’

From Sports Kyunghyang:

Jeon Hyosung misuses the term ‘democratisation’ – ‘used without understanding what it means’ – an unconvincing excuse

Secret Jeon Hyosung’s agency TS Entertainment tried to put out the media firestorm after she has set abuzz the Korean Internet with her radio gaffe about the word ‘democratisation’.

Invited on the SBS radio program called ‘Choi Hwajung’s Power Time’, Jeon Hyosung said ‘We respect each other’s individuality so we do not democratise [ourselves]‘. The term ‘democratisation’ is a term of much abuse on Ilbe to indicate ‘lowest common denominator’ or ‘uniformity’. Her comment spread rapidly over the internet causing instant firestorm.

Her agency TS Entertainment tried to quell the controversy by explaining that she was unaware of ‘the misuse by a certain website’. Another entertainment media outlet ReviewStar added the agency explained what she really tried to mean was that her team is ‘democratic’ because it respects everyone’s individuality but she ended up using the word incorrectly. Despite the effort to minimize the public relations damage, netziens show no sign of relenting. Her agency’s excuse, it is widely thought, is much to blame for the spread of the news.

A Twitter user ‘elga’ chided ‘it’s not so important whether she uses Ilbe or not – what is shown is that she thinks ‘democratisation’ in a negative light’, pointing out that her agency missed the point as to why the netizens are upset.

One netizen from Ruliweb chimed in with the following comment: ”democratisation’ is a word with positive usage and meaning but Ilbe distorted it in such a way as to carry negative connotations’, adding that ‘she deserves all the thrashing’. A reporter from SBS’s ‘Hyunjang 21′ also criticized her on Twitter, saying ‘Our program did extensive coverage about Ilbe…People really do not seem to study history these days. I’m concerned.’ Other similar opinions have been widely expressed, particularly with regards to the Gwangju massacre anniversary.

Comments from Naver:

smig****:

One mistake can knock you out…… Did you not learn anything from your neighbor? [referring to T-ara]

mone****:

Han Sunhwa [another group member] does not use the words she doesn’t understand because she’s dumb. What’s up with you, Hyosung?

artp****:

Lying through your teeth. We all know you are an Ilbe bug. Pretending to not know the meaning of democratisation when you are 25. WTF ke ke ke ke

ming****:

A group that respects individuality does not ‘democratise’? How is this NOT used in a negative way? Secret is an undemocratic group then?

yyh0****:

Hyosung used the Ilbe speech in that post on DC which was proven to be written by her indeed, ke ke ke ke. ‘It’s been a while and how come there are many people who are fans of multiple groups?’ [with a cheeky ending from Gyeongsang dialect] She really said so, ke ke ke ke.

paci****:

Hyosung, what was that ‘Seun-sang’ comment on DC? You are an Ilbe regular. You guys are finished, too.

mari****:

This is why Infinite Challenge does history special -_-

rari****:

Lying that she did not know ^_^

anjf****:

Looks very much like she knew exactly what she meant just as the bugs use the word.

mssh****:

If she had just attended her middle school properly, she’d have known the meaning.

wotj****:

They will be like T-ara. Well done.

qwas****:

Living in a democratic country and saying democratisation in a negative way, how sad is that? How dumb you must be to not know the meaning of it? Huh?

tree****:

If you do not know the meaning of a word, don’t use it. Secret is not a one-person group, not your own thing. You are hurting your group as a whole. Be a positive influence on your group, not a liability –… Think over what you’ve done.

kuri****:

Are you learning it well? What you go through now is ‘democratisation’.

lyoo****:

That you didn’t know is an excuse?

taei****:

How dare you bring up Ilbe, ke ke

zeo2****:

Such a pity. They were in the middle of enjoying their popularity…

xodi****:

This is why I can’t like celebrities just for their looks. Do you think it is only her? Many idols might be similar.

song****:

The birth of our first Ilbe idol?

2sun****:

I didn’t even know ‘democratisation’ could be used in such opposite way before this incident. The agency’s explanation doesn’t really make sense. She said ‘we do NOT democratise’. It doesn’t seem like a simple case of bad word choice. I thought she was a good girl. I’m surprised.

Popstar Uses ‘Democratisation’ Slang, Causes Controversy is a post from: koreaBANG

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