"Are Women Targets of Hate? Everyday Misogyny, Can It Be Stopped? ② [4th Anniversary of the Gangnam Station Murder]"

Normalization of Misogyny... 'Random Crimes' Targeting Women Among the General Public
Women Say "I Want to Learn About Feminism" After Encountering Hate Speech

On the afternoon of May 23, 2016, women in their 20s gathered through SNS in front of the Seocho Police Station in Seoul to hold a performance condemning the police's conclusion that the recent murder in a restroom near Gangnam Station was a 'random crime' committed by a person with a mental illness. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seunggon Han, Intern Reporters Yeonju Kim, Seulgi Kim, Juhee Kang] [Editor's Note] The 'Gangnam Station Murder Case,' in which a woman in her 20s was brutally killed by a man she did not know in a restroom near Gangnam Station, Seoul, marked its 4th anniversary on the 17th. Even after four years, crimes targeting women such as stalking, illegal filming, and the 'Nth Room' case continue unabated in our society. We examined the reality faced by women and possible solutions.

"Megals are all f***ers, I'm Buddha and a gangsta, 3 million Gucci bag, your girlfriend's house is my bedroom, I never go to jail, my lawyer is foolproof, mention my name and your whole family gets stabbed."

These are lyrics from the song "Money Road" released on March 30, 2019, by hip-hop artist Kim Hyo-eun. Song Min-ho, a member of the group WINNER, faced public criticism in May 2017 after rapping "Open wide like an obstetrics and gynecology clinic" on the audition program Show Me The Money 4.

Rapper San E also sparked controversy over misogyny by releasing the song "Feminist" in November 2018, which included lyrics such as "Why Me Too after consensual relations and doing everything?" and "What more do you want? I gave you subway, bus, and parking spaces."

In this context, women expressed anger but also pointed out that misogyny is no longer a new social phenomenon but a familiar reality.

A woman in her 30s, Ms. A, said, "Not only crimes targeting women but also the phenomenon of mocking women through rap lyrics is nothing new." She added, "Anger, hatred, and ridicule toward women continue even today, in May 2020."

The phenomenon of misogyny also appears in so-called 'random crimes' that do not discriminate victims. Although perpetrators select unspecified victims during the crime, it has been found that they tend to attack 'women' because they are easier targets.

In fact, a one-year search (March 2018 to March 2019) of news reports on 'random crimes' on portal sites showed that female victims outnumbered male victims.

Although the motive and victim are unclear in these crimes, it turns out that women are the majority of victims. This suggests that these 'random crimes' may actually be a form of hate crime targeting women.

On the afternoon of July 7, 2018, protesters are holding a condemnation rally near Hyehwa Station in Jongno-gu, Seoul, protesting against biased investigation, claiming that the police are conducting an unusually tough investigation because the victim of the hidden camera incident during the nude croquis class at Hongik University was male. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Recently, all victims in 'random crime' cases were women. On the afternoon of February 25 last year, a man in his 20s stabbed a woman in her 20s whom he did not know at a coffee shop near a university in Busan and was arrested by the police.

He told the police, "I was dissatisfied because people around me hated and mocked me. After buying a weapon at a nearby mart, I wandered around with the intention of killing anyone I caught," and committed the crime.

Earlier, in February 2018, a man in his late 20s in Buk-gu, Ulsan, randomly assaulted a 17-year-old female student passing by because he felt ignored by a woman. He approached from behind, covered her eyes and mouth with his hands, and threw her to the ground. The girl sustained injuries requiring two weeks of medical treatment.

In June of the same year, a female pharmacist was stabbed to death at a pharmacy in Pohang, Gyeongbuk. The suspect arrested by the police incoherently stated, "This woman insulted me 2-3 years ago."

In October, a man assaulted a passing woman without reason in a park in Incheon, and on the 30th of the same month, a man in his 60s killed a woman in her late 60s with a weapon at the entrance of the Dodeoksan hiking trail behind an apartment in Haan-dong, Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi Province.

The concentration of attacks on women in 'random crimes' targeting unspecified victims is also confirmed by statistics.

According to the 'Types and Characteristics of Abnormal Crimes in Korea' report published by the National Police Agency in 2016, the year the 'Gangnam Station Murder Case' occurred, among 46 cases of △random crimes △anger/impulse control failure △other atypical abnormal crimes from 2006 to 2015, 63.0% (29 cases) of victims were women.

The motives included targeting women specifically, such as "because she resembled my runaway wife" or "due to negative feelings toward women in general."

Experts analyze that even in 'random crimes,' perpetrators effectively select victims. Professor Oh Yoon-sung of the Department of Police Administration at Soonchunhyang University said, "The fact that many victims are women suggests that perpetrators chose their targets before committing the crimes."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

◆ Normalization of Misogyny... Women Say "I Want to Learn About Feminism"

The phenomenon of targeting women as victims and objects of hatred is easily observed in daily life.

According to a survey, about 9 out of 10 women in their 20s have experienced misogynistic expressions.

According to the 'Safety Awareness and Status Survey of Women in Their 20s in Daejeon' (surveying 1,236 women in their 20s) released by the Daejeon Women's Family Policy Center in March, 87.8% of respondents said they had seen or heard hateful expressions offline.

The places where misogynistic expressions were encountered offline were mostly schools or workplaces (37.4%), followed by mass media (29.5%) and public places (18.2%).

The rate of encountering hateful expressions online was even higher. 98% of respondents said they had seen or heard misogynistic expressions online.

The online spaces where hateful expressions were encountered included cafes and communities (44.6%), social networking services (SNS) (38.8%), and personal broadcasts (6.7%).

When asked about the impact of encountering such hateful expressions on their daily lives, 30.9% said, "I wanted to learn about feminism," and 20.4% said, "I came to hate men."

Additionally, 76.6% of respondents said misogynistic expressions are a "very serious social problem," and effective countermeasures included "incorporating gender equality education into the curriculum" and "enacting laws banning hateful expressions."

A woman in her 30s, Ms. B, said, "Being killed because I'm a woman and hearing hateful expressions because I'm a woman is everyday life. I don't want to divide men and women, but most social incidents show women as victims." She added, "I don't know where or how to start solving this, and not only I but other women have reached a stage of resignation."

The survey agency noted, "The results suggest that misogynistic expressions are a major cause of gender conflict," and emphasized, "Along with strong and physical regulations, measures to raise national gender sensitivity must be prepared."