Afraid of Being Labeled a Korean Feminist
"Feminist Humor Is Taboo"
As the movie 'Barbie' is creating a sensation in North America, foreign media have focused on the reason why 'Barbie' is performing unusually poorly in South Korea.
Movie 'Barbie' Cumulative Audience Approximately 460,000, Considered 'Underperforming'
On the 2nd (local time), the British newspaper The Guardian reported, "The reality is that there is a fear of being labeled a feminist," and stated, "'Barbie' is underperforming in South Korea."
'Barbie' is a film about Barbie (Margot Robbie) and Ken (Ryan Gosling), who live in Barbie Land and venture into the real world.
According to the Korean Film Council's integrated ticketing system (KOBIS), the movie, which was released on the 19th of last month, has recorded a cumulative audience of approximately 460,000.
Compared to 'Mission: Impossible ? Dead Reckoning Part One,' which was released on the 12th of last month and surpassed 3.6 million viewers, and 'Elemental,' which has been showing since June 14 and exceeded 5.8 million viewers, this number is significantly lower.
South Korea Ranks Last in 'Glass Ceiling Index,' Feminist Humor Taboo... "Feminism Established as a Negative Concept"
Sim Hae-in, a women's rights activist, said in an interview with the media, "The fact that a female-centered film containing feminist humor is still a taboo topic is clearly shown by 'Barbie.'"
She added, "Women may hesitate to go see this movie," and pointed out, "The word feminism is considered a dirty word by many individuals in South Korea, and people are uncomfortable facing the fact that this society has long been led by deeply rooted patriarchy."
The media emphasized, "South Korea is still very patriarchal and receives low scores in gender equality among developed countries," adding, "It has the largest gender wage gap among OECD countries and continues to rank last in The Economist's 'Glass Ceiling Index.'"
In March this year, South Korea ranked 29th out of 29 countries surveyed in the annual index released by the British current affairs weekly The Economist, remaining at the bottom for 11 consecutive years.
In the 2022 Global Gender Gap Index released by the World Economic Forum (WEF), South Korea ranked 99th out of 146 countries.
Film critic Yoon Sung-eun analyzed, "Koreans may agree with gender equality in principle, but there is strong resistance in some conservative parts of society to what is perceived as 'radical feminism.' Since Barbie was planned as an 'entertaining' movie, such sensitive topics being prominently displayed may not receive a positive response."
The media added, "Over the past few years, feminism has become associated with radical actions and established as a negative concept, especially in male-centered online communities in South Korea."
"Also a Reason Why It Did Not Resonate with Korean Sentiments Like 'Star Wars'"
However, Jason Basherbase, a British-born Korean film critic, said, "South Korea is a unique market," and noted, "In fact, the Korean film 'Mil-su' (Smuggling), which features mostly female leads, is currently ranked number one at the box office."
'Mil-su,' which depicts the crimes of haenyeo (female divers) set in the fictional seaside town of Guncheon in the 1970s, has recorded a cumulative audience of 2.22 million.
He continued, "While some female-led films struggle and feminism opponents will of course attack Barbie, these are not the only reasons for Barbie's poor box office performance. It is similar to how the 'Star Wars' series, closely linked to American pop culture, did not perform well in South Korea."
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