Bucheon Ani Festival Excludes Presidential Satire Work 'Yun Seok-yeol Car' from Exhibition

BIAF Organizing Committee "Does Not Know Specific Details"

National Student Cartoon Contest Gold Prize Winner 'Yoon Seok-yeol Car'

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] Recently, a cartoon satirizing President Yoon Suk-yeol, known as the 'Yoon Suk-yeol Car,' was exhibited at the Bucheon International Comics Festival, sparking controversy. Meanwhile, it was later revealed that a similar satirical cartoon was excluded from an exhibition at another festival.

According to Bucheon City Council in Gyeonggi Province on the 15th, a side exhibition organized by the Korean Society of Comics and Animation was held at the 24th Bucheon International Animation Festival (BIAF), which took place from the 21st to the 25th of last month.

Several works by society members were displayed at this exhibition, but it was reported that a cartoon satirizing President Yoon and his spouse was submitted but omitted from the exhibition.

The cartoon depicted a man presumed to be President Yoon saying "Police YUJI" while petting a dog. On a doghouse where another dog was mounted, the words "Kookmin University" and "Thesis YUJI" were written.

This appears to satirize the controversy surrounding First Lady Kim Geon-hee’s 2008 graduate thesis at Kookmin University, where the Korean title "회원 유지" was translated into English as "member Yuji."

A Bucheon City Council official stated, "It has been confirmed that among the submitted works by the society, only that particular work was not exhibited," adding, "We do not know the exhibition criteria or information about the submitters." A BIAF organizing committee official said, "Since the exhibition was not directly organized by the committee but was a side event, we are not aware of the specific details."

Earlier, at the 25th Bucheon International Comics Festival, the cartoon "Yoon Suk-yeol Car," which satirizes President Yoon and won the gold prize in the cartoon category of the National Student Comics Contest, was exhibited, causing controversy.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism warned that selecting and exhibiting a work with overt political themes in a contest for students, organized by the Bucheon City-affiliated foundation Korea Manhwa Contents Agency, was against the purpose of the event. This led to criticism that the government was overreacting in the art sector, where freedom of expression should be protected.