How Red Velvet, Bae Suzy and Gong Hyo-jin are leading K-pop and K-drama’s reckoning with Korea’s sexist culture

Sep 28 , 2020

Red Velvet’s Joy, Bae Suzy and Red Velvet’s Irene have been unapologetic about their feminism, but still get criticised heavily for it. Photo: @_imyour_joy @suzy_fangirl94 @renebaebae/Instagram

Whether sporting a T-shirt with a feminist slogan or commenting on criminal cases involving sexism, these South Korean idols are taking on the haters to champion the unpopular feminist cause and lead the fight against widespread gender inequality

South Korean society has been doing some belated soul searching over the issue of gender inequality of late, facing up to the deep-seated discrimination that is widely known as “men’s gender authority”. The exposure of Korea’s patriarchal culture in certain industries is starting to rile young women online, especially when it comes to K-pop and K-drama.

Sadly, the reality remains that those who speak out still require a certain amount of bravery to do so, especially in the world of entertainment where haters are rife and a squeaky clean image is key to enduring success.

Here STYLE celebrates some of the Korean female celebrities who have nevertheless stood their ground in recent months, promoting feminism and proudly airing their opinions in public.

Red Velvet’s Irene and Joy

In March 2018, Red Velvet leader Irene caused a frenzy online after revealing to her followers that she had read Cho Nam Joo’s Kim Ji Young, Born 1982 – a feminist novel addressing South Korea’s patriarchal culture, later adapted into a smash film starring Jung Yu-mi and Gong Yoo,

While female fans expressed their support for the idol, male fans took to online forums and social media to vent their anger, even posting about burning their Irene merchandise and photos.

Red Velvet member Joy also found herself in the spotlight earlier this year when she donned a “We Should All Be Feminists” T-shirt in several Instagram posts. The photos gained more traction after a netizen reposted them with the caption “Joy is being selfish”. Korean YouTuber PPKKa even uploaded a video titled “The reason Joy is selfish”, in which he told the idol to leave the group and to stop being a bad influence on her fellow members.

Undeterred, Joy has also been deliberately active in liking social media posts related to feminism and publicly scolding misogynistic men for their online sexist comments in the past. And, despite the backlash, the group remains popular. Take that, haters.