"Ban Adult-Only Musicals for Women Too" Backlash After Cancellation of Adult Festival

Some Complainants Criticize Adult Musical
"Obscene Stage Only Watched by Female Audience" Claim

The organizer of the so-called 'Adult Festival (2024 KXF The Fashion)', featuring Japanese adult video (AV) actresses, decided to cancel the event after struggling to find a venue. Meanwhile, attention is being drawn as some have filed protest complaints urging the ban of 'pornographic performances enjoyed by women.'

On the 18th, a complaint was posted on Seoul City's citizen participation platform 'Sangsangdaero Seoul.' Complainant A claimed in the post, "The 'The Man Alive Choice' currently held at Seoul Theater Hall 2 is an all-women-only concert, where simulated sexual acts are performed on stage with female audiences only, and the performers are topless."

Adult musicals claimed to be obscene performances by some complainants [Image source=Online community capture]

They continued, "It is a festival causing social disorder, even selling underwear worn by male actors on stage," adding, "Just as Seoul City, Gangnam District Office, and the Mirae Hangang Headquarters tried to block the Adult Festival, I hope the socially disruptive The Man Alive performances will also be stopped." Another complainant B also claimed, "The Wild Wild Show held at Myeongbo Art Hall is an all-women-only concert, where simulated sexual acts are performed on stage with female audiences only and topless," calling it a "festival causing social disorder."

The repeated complaints appear to be a backlash against the cancellation of the Adult Festival. Earlier, some women's groups, including the Suwon Women's Network, held a press conference on the 12th of last month, urging the cancellation of the festival, calling it "sexual exploitation aiming only for profit through women's sexuality and the spread of a culture that condones prostitution." After it was revealed that the venue was near an elementary school, opposition from parent groups also followed.

The controversy also spread to the political sphere. On the 17th, Cheon Haram, a proportional representative-elect of the Reform Party, wrote on social media, "What is wrong with adults enjoying adult culture in the form of performances or festivals that only adults can attend?" He stated, "A society that restricts men's sexual self-determination and demonizes men's instincts is not a normal society at all," and mentioned adult musicals aimed at female audiences. Cheon claimed, "(Such musicals) are performances with levels not much different from the Adult Festival."