K-Drama viewers vowed to boycott the K-Drama adaptation.
The highly problematic one Naver webtoons Educate yourself has returned to the spotlight after recent reports claimed it would be getting a K-Drama adaptation.
The webtoon received intense criticism last year for its highly racist plot, leading the creators to apologize. But the story itself contained so many disturbing elements that it was removed from the platform for international readers and paused indefinitely on the Korean app.
The possibility of K-Dramafication of such a webtoon has naturally sparked controversy. This was initially reported Kim Nam Gil had been confirmed to take on the role of the main character, bringing more attention to the issue.
In light of this news, a report from the Korean feminist on X (previously, Twitter) brought out another problematic plot from the webtoon that left international netizens furious. In one of the incidents, a teacher who was portrayed trying to teach her students about feminist values was violently punched in the face.
Here’s a scene from NAVER Webtoon’s “참교육 (The True Education)” that demonizes a female teacher as a distorted image of the feminist and uses violence against her. This scene implies the message that it is acceptable to attack feminists. pic.twitter.com/dQuk8WFdam
— (cat) Feminism = Women’s Human Rights Movement (@dvu84djp) October 8, 2024
The panel in particular became a hot topic among anti-feminists in South Korea and was widely seen as an act of normalizing violence against feminists.
“NAVER’s webtoon ‘Get Schooled’ came out with a scene where a teacher smashes the face of another teacher who instills feminine thoughts.”
— Caption above
International netizens have expressed their extreme disgust at such a narrative and have vowed not to watch the K-Drama or support anyone who chooses to appear in it.
We will boycott this shitty drama https://t.co/dppmzLmCg7
— 💞✰Serenity훈🇵🇸 (@deuxSehUniverse) November 7, 2024
tw: misogyny, kdrama | #Me too
I’m writing off whoever is in this drama https://t.co/N6ifjTAbJA
— 971518🫧 (@971518k) November 7, 2024
meanwhile, they can’t release a second season of Signal (since 2016) despite so many announcements.
I hope they dispose of this rubbish too. https://t.co/9mml799zeR
— 🚹=🚺 (@gaa2022_28) November 7, 2024
While the depiction of violence against women, in general, is harmful, in the context of Korean society it has the potential to cause immediate danger to women. The country has seen a rapid rise in anti-feminist sentiment, to the point where men have physically attacked women just because they suspected them of being feminists.
Meanwhile, Kim Nam Gil addressed claims that he would take on the lead role in the K-Drama adaptation of Educate yourself on his social media. Read more here.
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