Ha Il-ji - sophist, or man of courage

By Kang Hyun-kyung

Writer Ha Il-ji is back in the spotlight, 16 years after the 1991 film “Road to Race Track” based on his novel of the same name stirred up a controversy.

Ha, also a professor in the Department of Creative Writing at the Dongduk Women's University, is facing the double standard allegation.

In the classroom, he allegedly defamed #MeToo victim Kim Ji-eun who claimed she was forced to have an affair with former South Chungcheong Governor An Hee-jung and was sexually assaulted by An four times.

Ha asserted their relationship could have been “consensual,” not forced as the victim claimed, and further speculated that jealousy could have been the driver behind her revelation.

According to him, Kim was jealous of the woman, another victim of An's sexual misconduct, and was determined to disclose what she had gone through in order to bring down the man she once loved.

His “analysis” was made public after one of his students posted it on her social media, which then spread quickly.

Facing criticism for his controversial remarks, Ha refused to offer an apology.

Instead, he said his “character was slain” as what he said in classroom was made public against his will. He said he was deeply hurt and announced he would leave his teaching job.

He claimed #MeToo has gone too far.

Some may laud him for his courage to break the silence about the sweeping campaign to end sexual misconduct. Some men are simmering because of the way the movement is going. They alleged the campaign has been heading in the wrong direction and has taken the form of a witch hunt.

The “Mike Pence rule” _ men avoiding one-on-one time with women to prevent any unnecessary misunderstandings about their intentions _ has become a buzz phrase in the #MeToo era.

Sexual harassment comes when a woman feels she was harassed by a man, regardless the intention of the man in question.

Writer Ha appeared to point out this subjective aspect of sexual harassment.

But the reporter began to be suspicious of his motives while watching how he has reacted to his own sexual misconduct allegation.

One of his students claimed Ha harassed her in 2016 and demanded the writer offer a public apology for his misconduct.

Ha has stayed mum on the allegation.

He is judging others based on his criteria, but turning a blind eye to his own alleged sexual misconduct.

He is no stranger to controversy.

Back in 1991, he faced an obscenity allegation in the wake of the release of the movie “Road to Race Track” based on his book.

His fiction revolves around a man identified as R and his ex-girl friend J. They had lived together in France but she refused to continue their relationship after returning to Seoul.

Unconvinced, R feels frustrated.

Reactions to “Road to Race Track” were poles apart. The book pitted him and a few people in literary circles against the public.

His literary compatriots lauded the book for opening a new horizon for Korean literature and some described him as a post-modern writer.

But his book raised a controversy about obscenity. Some critics sided with him and said Ha chose the topic and used explicit language as he tried to expose the hypocrisy of society.

The way he has reacted to current allegations about his past sexual misconduct and defaming the #MeToo victim shows he is no different from other hypocrites.

#MeToo has brought him back to controversy again.