Jang Ye-chan Web Novel Controversy... "Sexual Objectification of IU"

Democratic Party's 'Double Standards' After Criticizing Yangduguyuk Issue
"Distorted Sexual Awareness and Medical Professional Disparagement at a Dire Level"

Jang Ye-chan, a candidate for the Youth Supreme Council Member election at the People Power Party's March 8 party convention, is embroiled in controversy after being accused of sexually objectifying female celebrities in his past novel "Gangnam Hwata," written under the pen name "Myojae."

On the 27th, Lee Ki-in, another candidate for the Youth Supreme Council Member, stated on his Facebook, "The content is so obscene that it is beyond words," adding, "The web novel, which even implies having sexual relations later on, is rated suitable for ages 12 and above. Even fifth graders in elementary school can read it."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Previously, Jang published a fantasy martial arts novel titled "Gangnam Hwata" under the pen name "Myojae" from April 2015 to December 2016. The novel was rated "12 and older." In the story, a 29-year-old Korean medicine doctor known as Hwata (Hua Tuo) in Gangnam treats an actress suffering from an incurable disease through sexual intercourse and later treats a female singer who cannot hit high notes due to a sore throat, eventually dating her.

The female singer is said to resemble singer IU. The singer's name in the novel is Lee Ji-eun, which is IU's real name. The novel includes lines such as "Lee Ji-eun blushes as she perfectly executes the triple high notes" and "Am in my dream - im - im -," which are part of the lyrics from IU's famous song "Good Day," known for its triple high notes.

In response to accusations of sexually objectifying the female singer, Jang claimed on Facebook the previous day, "Did I make obscene remarks in an essay like Tak Hyun-min (former Blue House Protocol Secretary), or sexually harass female celebrities in comments like Lee Jae-myung (Democratic Party leader)'s son?" asserting that there is nothing wrong with his novel's content.

He continued, "I never thought I would be absurdly attacked over the content of a novel," and added, "I am proud of my history as a web novel and webtoon writer, and I will pioneer new areas against the political prejudice toward culture and arts."

However, candidate Lee said, "The problem lies in Jang's excuse," explaining, "He claims it is simply freedom of expression and that the similarity in names does not specify anyone." He added, "I am quite surprised that Jang invokes freedom of expression. While he has insisted that the phrase 'sheep's head and dog meat' itself constitutes the act and defended disciplinary action by the Ethics Committee, he now cites freedom of expression for his fantasy novel that sexually objectifies a female celebrity. This is a classic case of Democratic Party-style double standards."

Yoon Young-hee, spokesperson for Ahn Cheol-soo, candidate for the People Power Party leadership, also released a statement that day, saying, "Jang's distorted sexual consciousness that sexually objectifies female celebrities and disparages medical and religious professionals is at a deplorable level," and criticized, "While the freedom of expression of a web novelist should be respected, it is beyond the bounds for a ruling party's supreme council candidate to sexually objectify others and ridicule professional occupations for the sake of views on creative works."

Spokesperson Yoon added, "Disappointingly, Jang is dragging former leader Lee Jun-seok into his affairs. Does he have no regard for those hurt by his poor writing?" and urged, "Instead of deflecting blame onto Lee Jun-seok, I hope he takes responsible steps to apologize to everyone hurt by his poor writing."

Earlier, former leader Lee Jun-seok shared an article about Jang's novel on his Facebook, writing, "If you touch IU's fandom, the general election becomes risky. I will read it myself to see how severe it is," and added, "Being a writer of erotic novels to make a living is understandable, but it would be problematic if IU's fandom moves."