Isu Station assault sparks gender-charged debate online

By Lee Suh-yoon

An assault case at a pub has unleashed another wave of online anger against Korea's patriarchal society, as two women involved claim four men beat them up for “not following femininity norms” because the women had short haircuts and went without makeup.

The two women ― sisters in their 20s ― were both hospitalized after the altercation with some male customers at a pub near Isu Station, central Seoul. According to an online post uploaded by the younger sister, the fight started after a group of young men from the neighboring table insulted them for their “unfeminine looks,” using derogatory terms that target radical feminists in Korea.

The conflict quickly escalated as the women verbally retaliated. In the resulting attack, the younger woman was choked and pushed to the floor. Her sister, while trying to stop one of the men from running away until the police came, was kicked backward onto the stairs, causing a deep cut on the back of her head from one of the stair edges.

An online petition on the Cheong Wa Dae website citing this online post and calling for justice against the men gained over 300,000 signatures since Wednesday.

“The women were beaten up just because they wore no makeup and had short hair,” the petitioner wrote.

The police, however, registered the case as a two-way scuffle as the men claimed they too were physically attacked. They also said it was the women who first picked a fight, refusing to lower their voices despite multiple requests.

Another customer at the pub said online that the women first started cursing at her and her boyfriend, and the men got involved while trying to help the couple.

The opposing accounts have fueled another gender violence debate online ― a common feature of the digital sphere after a series of #MeToo and anti-spycam porn protests pulled feminist issues out from the shadows.

“One side is two women, one of which is bleeding with a deep cut to the bone, while the other side is four men who have some missing buttons and stretched sleeves,” one tweeted. “Even a newborn baby would know this was pretty much one-way violence.”

“Korean men who are pro-women's corsets and make fun of those who participate in the anti-corset movement become the #IsuStation―ViolentMan when they go to the bar,” another user tweeted.

Some warned of an offline response, reminiscent of the huge anti-spycam porn rallies near Hyehwa Station.

“If the government does not properly respond to the incident, women will rally from Isu Station all the way to Hyehwa Station,” one wrote.

User comments at male-dominated community sites were less sympathetic, saying the women probably deserved it.

“They probably beat them up because they heard the women insulting Korean men in general,” one user at a video game information sharing site wrote. “I'm really glad they did it.”