South Korea Enters the #MeToo Movement

In Korea, the #MeToo campaign is currently going viral as victims of sexual harassments united to accuse their colleagues of sexually abusing them. Although some might examine this movement as an exaggeration to elevate women’s social status, there is a reason why the entire nation is going viral. There have been previous attempts in the past when the victims stood in public to reveal their experience. However, the media didn’t support the victims but instead depicted their words as false statements. As more and more victims speak up for their experience, the #MeToo campaign is uncontrollably spreading among South Korean women.

In February, Seo-Ji-Yeon, a South Korean prosecutor, stood in front of the public to disclose her experience of sexual harassment within her workplace. She was sexually harassed in her work but couldn’t tell her surrounding colleagues. She was harassed by her boss in front of her colleagues while others remained a spectator. Her statement soon drew people’s fury and her superior officer at work was soon punished for his actions. Right after prosecutor Seo’s reveal, the #MeToo movement spread across to the theatrical industry as well as universities. ‘Theatre Troupe Georipae (연희단거리패)’, a renowned theatre group, has been an issue recently. Lee Yoon-Taek, a senior member of the Theatre Troupe Georipae, has been accused of harassing nine women in total. Although some of the incidents happened five years before they were revealed, victims explained the reason why they didn’t speak up. An actress affiliated with the Theatre Troupe Georipae explained: “He was like the king of the organization. When he harassed me, I resisted and informed others about what happened. However, no actions were taken and instead I was witch-hunted”.

Another disclosure took place at Chengju University, South Korea. Cho Min-GI, a professor in the Chengju University, was accused of sending inappropriate messages out to his students. His actions were revealed when a group of male students posted a manual of how to behave when meeting professor Cho in private. Cho is a professor as well as a public figure who has participated in several television programs. As he was a well-recognized figure to the public, the people were shocked. Previously, whenever a famous figure was involved in a scandal, the media compelled the victims to be quiet. The people were completely blind to what was happening behind the scenes. As the #MeToo campaign broke out, a sudden surge of testimonies was reported.

The #MeToo campaign is bringing a great deal of change to the world and is encouraging women to overcome trauma and fight against the immoral acts of certain people and the corrupted media that failed to protect the victims. Some reports are fiction and contain personal hatred towards the target. targeting public figures to create a bad reputation. Although the #MeToo campaign is a good opportunity to change the corrupted culture of sexual abuse within the workplace and to reveal the unwelcome truth behind the scenes, the testimonies should be carefully considered and the victims should be warmly welcomed by society.

 

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