Webtoon Artist Gian84 / Photo by Moon Honam munonam@
[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kang Juhee] The webtoon "Return to Campus King" by webtoon artist Kian84 has become embroiled in a controversy over misogyny, and a petition demanding the suspension of the webtoon’s serialization has appeared on the Blue House's national petition board.
On the 12th, a petition titled "*** Requests Suspension of Serialization" appeared on the Blue House national petition board, asking for the suspension of Kian84's webtoon "Return to Campus Student." As of 10:08 PM that day, the petition had garnered 17,240 signatures.
The petitioner pointed out problems with certain depictions in episode 303 of "Return to Campus King." The petitioner stated, "There is an absurd scene that mocks the idea of the female protagonist having sexual relations with a team leader from a large corporation who is 20 years older and getting hired because of it," and added, "This artist is quite well-known and popular enough to rank high on Naver Webtoon, so readers of various age groups have likely seen it."
The petitioner continued, "This artist has been the subject of ongoing controversy, and this episode is serious enough to surpass previous issues," and added, "I hope the artist draws the webtoon with a sense of identity and awareness as a webtoon creator."
The problematic scene depicts the female protagonist Bong Ji-eun, an intern at Kian Group, breaking a shellfish placed on her stomach during a company dinner.
Following this, the line "It’s not about working hard. It’s not about academic background, specs, or effort... her very cells were craving the work" appears. Then, with the caption "Bong Ji-eun, final acceptance at Kian Group!" the female protagonist is shown joining as a full-time employee.
Some readers criticized this scene, claiming it implies that Bong Ji-eun passed the recruitment process after having a sexual relationship with her male superior, thus degrading women.
Readers responded with comments such as, "What kind of view on women leads to such a depiction?" and "Is the conclusion that the female protagonist got hired at a large corporation without ability because she dated her boss?" continuing their criticism.
The scene where Bong Ji-eun breaks shellfish on her stomach has now been replaced with a scene of breaking snow crabs.
Kian84 had previously issued an official apology after receiving criticism for using derogatory expressions toward the hearing impaired in episode 248 of "Return to Campus King."
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